


Blind Luck

by DawnOfTomorrow



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Emotional Fluff, Long-Distance Relationship, Lots of gay panicking, M/M, Mild angst but mostly fluff, Oodles of Poodles, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Poodles, Secrets, lots of texting, victor is 22, yuuri is 18
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2020-09-29 12:16:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 80
Words: 73,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20435882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DawnOfTomorrow/pseuds/DawnOfTomorrow
Summary: AU where Yuuri signs up for a dating site on a whim. It was a novelty, really, just a silly thing he came across while clicking through a few skating sites. A blind dating website that lets you enter preferences and automatically and directly matches you with someone that fits those preferences? It was stupid, wasn’t it?Turns out no, it was the best decision he made in his life. It just... takes him a bit to realise that. A younger Yuuri and a younger Victor interact online and it turns out to be just what both of them needed.





	1. Chapter 1

Yuuri signed up for the dating site on a whim. It was a novelty, really, just a silly thing he came across while clicking through a few skating sites. A blind dating website that let you enter preferences and automatically and directly matched you with someone that fit those preferences? It was stupid, wasn’t it?

He didn’t even take it seriously when he entered the information on what he wanted in a partner. Even at age 18, he had a good idea of what he wanted. A man, first of all. Someone calm, dependable. Someone similar to himself, really. That was not what he typed in.

No, instead he fed the website different information entirely. A man, yes. Older, light-haired, blue-eyed. Flirty, happy, bright. All things that Yuuri was… not. In short, he told the website he wanted Victor Nikiforov because in his daydreams (not to mention the ones at night between his sheets) it was Victor Nikiforov he wanted, not some faceless calm and supportive man that would be good for him.

He saved the profile before he could go back and change the info. He didn’t even expect a match of course – with unrealistic info like that and his own less-than-stellar description of himself, he didn’t have much hope.

Except… except that not an hour later, he got an email, informing him that his profile – he’d written down only the first few things that came to mind about himself – had been matched with another profile. He stared at the email for some time – surely the software had made a mistake?

It seemed not. Almost wearily, he logged back into his account on his phone to look at the information that was visible about his match. Male, three, no, four years older. They were a perfect match on interests, which was a little odd. Yuuri had only entered dogs and ice skating, so clearly the program that matched people had been a little optimistic there.

Even though there wasn’t a photo of the mystery man, a little pop-up informed him that they matched each other’s physical type as well. Yuuri had described himself as having black hair and brown eyes – hardly very exciting, but then again, apparently this other person described themselves similar to Victor if it was a match?

Before he could even scroll further, the first message popped up – sent by one ‘GoldenPuppy’. Well then. Yuuri tentatively tapped the notification to see the message. He didn’t know what to expect, hadn’t even really fully comprehended that there was a match at all.

GP: Hello there! Nice to meet you! I was so excited to find a match! I’ve been on here for ages and all the suggestions I got weren’t close matches at all! Ah, I’m rambling. How are you?

Yuuri’s fingers hovered over the keyboard. His own username – Katsudamn – stared at him almost mockingly. It had been his sister’s nickname for him the first time she’d seen him land a triple axel. Notoriously terrible at coming up with names, Yuuri had typed it in without thinking.

KD: Hello there! I’m fine and you? You’re my first match, actually :-)

His reply was lame, he knew, but it beat not replying at all. Yuuri groaned – if the other never replied at all, that would be understandable.

His phone buzzed.


	2. Chapter 2

GP: Yay, you replied! I’m great! I’m really excited actually! I never really thought someone like me would be a good match for anyone, haha!

He frowned down at his phone – sure, Yuuri had filled in some pretty random information but what did the stranger think was so terrible he’d never find a match? His fingers hesitated over the keyboard again.

KD: I was surprised too. This whole blind online dating seemed a little odd, you know?

GP: I know what you mean! A friend of mine made me do it. He said he met the ‘love of his life’ here. They broke up two weeks later but then he found another ‘love of his life’ and I just made an account to get him to stop bugging me, haha!

KD: Oh, so you’re not actually looking for… anything?

Yuuri was surprised by the disappointment he felt – this match wasn’t even based on anything real and yet the thought of being a joke, a favour to someone else… stung a bit. He bit his lip, watching the three blinking dots that told him that GoldenPuppy was typing.

GP: Oh! Oh no! Nono! Don’t misunderstand, please! I’m REALLY happy! I’d love to get to know you better. You seem nice.

He wasn’t entirely sure how he came across as nice from just a few lines of text, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t curious about the other man too. Glancing around the otherwise empty rink, he stretched out on one of the benches off to the side, phone clutched tightly between his fingers.

KD: You too. So… tell me about yourself?

GP: <3 <3 <3 There’s not much to tell! I love dogs. That’s most of it, really!

Yuuri grinned at his phone – he had no idea what the other looked like, but he could just imagine an excited grin and maybe a self-deprecating laugh from the other. His fingers moved over the keyboard with increasing determination.

KD: I do too. Do you have one? I have a miniature poodle. He’s seven years now.

GP: :-O OMG

GP: Are you serious? You like poodles? Poodles are the BEST dogs!!!

GP: And yes! I do have one as well! A standard poodle. She’s the BEST.

KD: Second best. My Vicchan is better by default. Sorry. ;-)

He added the winking face after a moment of hesitation – it was a little easier to be bold over text than in person, but he was still worried about offending the other poodle-owner… what were the chances, really?

Yuuri grinned.

GP: Blasphemy! Makya is THE BEST.

KD: Let’s say they’re tied for gold?

GP: Hm. Fine. But only because I’m so nice.

KD: Alright, alright!

GP: Forget about me though, what about you? Tell me about yourself!

Yuuri faltered again – what was he supposed to say? A figure skating teenager from Nowhere, Japan, wasn’t exactly interesting conversation material, was he? For a moment, he considered making up some elaborate backstory – maybe he could be the child of diplomats? He shook off the thought. No. He didn’t want to lie.

KD: Ah, I’m 18 now, from Japan. Kyushu, actually. I recently graduated high school and I’m going to start college next year, probably. I, uhm, I figure skate? A lot? Sorry if that’s lame.

The next reply took a few minutes.

GP: Wow, so you’re four years younger? When’s your birthday? Mine’s in December! I didn’t go to college because I was busy doing something else… coincidentally enough, FIGURE SKATING! I can’t believe we have that in common. Are you going to go pro? Are you in tournaments?

Yuuri gaped at his phone – another figure skater? The dating site had somehow paired him with probably the only kind of person that WOULDN’T think he was lame for loving such a ‘girly’ sport? He’d briefly dated a hockey player, thinking he would get it, only to be laughed at for half of their first date – the other hadn’t even understood why he’d been upset by it.

KD: November. I can’t believe you’re a skater too? What are the odds? I’ve skated in tournaments before, but nothing international. I’m not that good. What about you? Where are you from, by the way?

GP: I know!!!! I didn’t expect that I thought maybe you’d put it as just an interest or something? This is so exciting! I’m from Russia – cliché, I know!

Yuuri snorted. Cliché indeed – Russia was THE nation for figure skaters after all. The country had produced more stars and champs than any other.

KD: Well, I DID put it as an interest! Not a cliché at all! Why did you get into skating?

GP: <3 I tried it as a kid and was weirdly good at it? My parents encouraged it and… well, fifteen years later, here I am! How about you?

KD: Oh, I started out doing ballet, not skating. My ballet teacher is a huge skating fan though and she encouraged me to try it out. I loved it as soon as I stepped on to the ice. I’ve been skating for about ten years now.

GP: Wow!!!! So you can do ballet as well? So talented! <3 You must be so flexible! That’s my weakness – I can do the jumps but my step sequences and such always come out wooden.

Yuuri snorted. Flexible? Well, not exactly a talent but the other man seemed suitably impressed at the very least. That was… good. It made Yuuri feel like he was more accomplished than he really was.


	3. Chapter 3

KD: Yes, I love ballet! I still take lessons twice a week. I’m sure your steps are fine. I struggle more on jumps. I only have one quad and I can’t even land it in competition properly.

GP: So. Impressive. Thank you <3 I work hard on them, but jumps are easier for me. I can do the quad Salch, quad toe loop and quad loop. Which one can you do? My first one was the toe loop. I tried jumping it when I was in juniors still and I got yelled at SO MUCH by my coach! :-D

KD: WOW! That’s a lot! I didn’t have one yet in juniors though I landed a triple axel in my second junior competition. I can do the toe loop in practice but usually not in competition. I’ve tried the salchow a few times but only landed it once.

GP: You’ll get it, I’m sure! Triple axels are HARD!!! Is it bad I want to see you skate now, haha?

Wincing, Yuuri lowered his phone – he very much did NOT want the other man to see him skate. He really wasn’t good and since the other man was obviously better, he didn’t want to embarrass himself like that.

Clearly, his hesitation to respond again didn’t go unnoticed – GoldenPuppy sent another message.

GP: I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I didn’t mean to! You don’t have to show me. I’m happy just to talk to you!

A little relieved, Yuuri pulled up his keyboard again.

KD: Yeah, okay. I’m… really shy? I’m sorry.

GP: Nonononono it’s fine! I shouldn’t have pushed. I’ll happily wait until you’re ready to show me. Truth be told… well, I sort of don’t think I want to tell you my identity yet either. Sorry.

KD: No, I get that. It’s only fair – maybe we can tell each other in the future?

GP: Yes <3<3<3

GP: I’d love that. Oh, what time is it in Japan?

KD: 2.16pm, why?

GP: Oh, so I’m not keeping you awake! I’m glad. I knew you were a few hours ahead of me… it’s just past 6 am here. I’m currently on the treadmill!

Yuuri gaped at his phone – how was the other typing AND running? And who got up that early just to torture themselves? He was very much not a morning person.

KD: I’m at the rink, taking a break at the moment. Are you a morning person?

GP: Yes! I love watching the sunrise and taking Makya for a run but today it’s snowing too much. :-( Do you have snow? What’s your rink like?

Yuuri chuckled, finding the unbridled enthusiasm of the other oddly endearing.

KD: I prefer sleeping in. I’m a night-owl. No snow here but there should be some next week. My rink is just a small local one – it’s not Olympic sized or anything but it belongs to a friend’s parents so I can train in it pretty much whenever I want to. What about yours?

GP: Ohhh, sleepy mornings in bed are good too. Ah, I don’t like it very much – I know it makes me a bad Russian, but I don’t like the cold? I usually have some kind of coat or jacket around because I always get so cold! Embarrassing, isn’t it?

GP: My rink is full-sized and only open to the students of my coach. There’s three of us seniors and one junior at the moment. I envy you for having a whole rink to yourself. What about your coach?

KD: Wow! That’s so cool! I don’t actually have a coach? My, uh, family couldn’t really afford to hire one to come out here. Next year when I go to college, I’ll hopefully be able to find one near my college. Also, it’s not embarrassing to get cold at all! I’m used to temperatures because my parents have a hot spring, so I go from really warm to really cold a lot! :-)

GP: Omg and you’ve been in competitions? Without a coach? That’s SO impressive!!!!! I’d be useless without my coach, he’s really strict. Without that, I’d just lie around doing nothing all day! Where are you going to go to college? WOW, I want to try a hot spring now. Sounds so cool!

KD: Well, my ballet instructor helps me with my choreographies. I also watch lots of videos of other skaters and learn from those.

GP: SO. IMPRESSIVE. Who do you watch? Maybe it’s someone I know :-O Any Russians? ;-)

Yuuri groaned at his phone – having not expected a match when he’d more or less described VICTOR NIKIFOROV, he now felt awfully awkward admitting that said man was his inspiration. It was stupid of course – any skater would have heard of him, Russian or not.

KD: There are lots. Russians… well, Victor Nikiforov obviously.

The next reply took a few minutes – long enough to worry Yuuri a little. Should he not have mentioned Victor? Did the other skater not like him? Maybe he knew him in person? Yuuri shook his head – the odds of some random Russian skater knowing Victor were astronomical.


	4. Chapter 4

GP: Wow! So you like him, huh?

KD: Don’t you? He’s SO good!

GP: Ah, well, I suppose. I liked some of his programs. Which ones did you like?

KD: The Lilac Fairy :-D So cool!!! I tried jumping that quad loop of his the next day and actually sprained my ankle. Not so impressive now, am I?

GP: Aww, poor you! That’s brave though, to just try like that! I liked that program too, though. It was one of his better ones. Anyway, what are you training today?

KD: Just an older exhibition program of mine – I’m due to appear in an ice show in Tokyo in a week.

GP: Wow! What’s the score?

KD: You’ll think it’s silly. It’s a pop song.

GP: I won’t think it’s silly.

KD: It’s called ‘Stole the show’. My ballet teacher suggested it.

GP: Good song. What else have you skated to?

KD: Classical stuff, mostly. Lohengrin. Swan lake. That sort of stuff. You?

GP: Would it shock you if I said I’ve done the Lilac Fairy?

Yuuri laughed quietly – it WAS one of the most popular scores for people to skate to. There was someone who skated to it nearly every year.

KD: Not at all.

GP: Well then, the Lilac Fairy, some traditional Russian music as well. My coach likes the traditional stuff.

KD: That’s cool. Traditional Japanese music… doesn’t really work for skating.

GP: I’ll have to listen to some, some time. I don’t think I’ve ever heard any. Hmm…

A glance at the clock revealed that it was time for Yuuri to continue – as a matter of fact, he should have done so a little while ago already.

KD: I need to get back to practising soon, unfortunately.

GP: Don’t let me keep you <3 <3 <3

GP: Can I have your phone number though? We could text later? If you want?

GP: Or not, if you prefer. But I’d like to.

He hesitated for a moment before quickly typing in his number – he’d never given his number to a stranger like that before… he didn’t even know GoldenPuppy’s name, what he looked like or anything of the sort.

Still, he wanted to keep talking to the other man… so, he pressed send.

He immediately received a number in return and saved it in his phone as GP.

GP: <3 <3 <3 Thank you!!! Text me later when you get the chance? I’ll be waiting <3

A little intimidated by the many, many hearts, he replied with a simple ‘ok’ before stashing away his phone quickly and walking back to the ice. He hadn’t lied – he really was practising an older exhibition of his, however, he suddenly found himself motivated to try jumps again.

Two attempts at the quad toe look went well, giving him just enough confidence to try a quad Salchow. He fell, of course, wiping out quite hard. Still, Yuuri wasn’t one to just give up. Instead, he stood up and tried again – tried two more times, fell both times. Still, he fell… less badly.

Opting for a few triple Salchows, he didn’t give himself a break before trying again – he landed that one. Not well – he wobbled, almost overstepped, but he landed it anyway. He was dashing off the ice and to his phone before he could even comprehend it.

Opening a new conversation with his most recent contact, he typed his message and hit send quite quickly.

Yuuri: I just landed a quad Salchow!!! For like the third time in my life!!!!!!

He didn’t expect a response, not quickly at the very least, but a mere few moments passed before a reply came.

GP: AMAZING!!! So talented!! Congrats!

Yuuri smiled down at his phone, blushing – he wasn’t used to effusive praise like that. He sensed that the other man meant every word of it too, somehow. Pleased, he put the phone away again and stepped out on the ice. Unwilling to compromise the rest of his training, he really did stick to his exhibition from that point on.

It went well – a two-year-old program wasn’t too challenging when it came down to it, especially since the program didn’t feature any quads at all. It had been his last year of juniors – no quads allowed in those competitions.

When he finished his practice and headed for the small shower room, Yuuri was buzzing with energy – he hadn’t felt so positive about a training, a skate, before in his entire life. Who’d have thought that just landing a quad Salchow would make that much of a difference?


	5. Chapter 5

Yuuri usually ran home if he wasn’t too tired – the ten-minute run was a good way for him to wind down from the precise movements of skating. That day wasn’t any different, except that he ran faster – he had discovered after getting out of the shower that his phone battery had died.

He set a new record for his time home – a little over eight minutes instead of the usual ten or so he took. Greeting his parents and dashing up to his room, he had his phone plugged in and charging before even taking off his jacket.

Changing into his usual home clothes was easy and quick – by the time his phone beeped as it switched back on, he was already laying on his bed, eagerly waiting for it to come to life. He checked his notifications – five texts from GP.

Yuuri had never tapped on anything quite that quickly in his life.

GP: Hope the rest of your practice goes well!

GP: And I’m off to skate as well! I have to train for next season already because I’m going to be choreographing for some new music! Well, kind of choreographing. My coach makes the big decisions, unfortunately.

GP: I’m so happy you managed a quad Salchow! In honour of that, I’m going to do nothing but those today!!!

GP: My coach yelled at me for refusing to do my normal jumps. ;-;

GP: Worth it. Hope to hear from you soon <3

The last text he’d received had come in almost an hour ago, and Yuuri typed his reply quickly.

Yuuri: Thank you! It went well. I’m pretty much ready for the exhibition at this point. So you choreograph your routines with your coach? That’s nice! You shouldn’t make your coach angry just because I landed a jump. :-) Hope your training is going well too!

Naturally, he didn’t expect a reply – the other man was probably still skating after all. Yuuri stretched out on his bed, content to wait and relax – he really had worked hard in his practice.

Not even a minute later, his phone buzzed.

GP: THANK YOU! It’s going well, and it was totally worth making my coach mad. I never listen to what he says anyway. Are you home now? Done for the day?

Yuuri: That’s right. How about you?

GP: Still skating! Have to be careful not to let anyone see I have my phone on me though ;-)

Yuuri: You’re skating and texting? That’s DANGEROUS!!!

GP: It’s fine! I’m not going to fall!

Yuuri: Please don’t risk injuring yourself just to talk to me. Not worth it.

GP: That’s for me to decide, isn’t it?

Yuuri: !!!!! If you’ll be like that, I’ll just stop texting you back for now.

GP: What? Noooo, that’s not fair!

GP: Please don’t ignore me? Please? I promise I’ll be good. Tell me you won’t ignore me, and I’ll put my phone away until I take a break?

Smiling at his phone, Yuuri texted back a thumbs up, just as his sister unceremoniously opened the door to his room. “Hey, little brother… Mum says she needs help in the kitchen if you’re not busy.” “I’ll go now. Thanks, Mari.”

Reluctantly, Yuuri put away his phone and hurried to help his mother prepare for their daily dinner rush. GP would have to wait until their guests were fed – Yuuri was ravenous too, of course. Hours upon hours of training tended to have that effect.


	6. Chapter 6

Several hours later, an exhausted Yuuri fell into bed and nearly forgot about his chat with GP entirely. Only the insistent flashing of his notification light that kept him from dozing off reminded him and he quickly reached for his phone.  
Six new messages. He cursed softly.

GP: Annnd I’m on break! How are you? Tired from training?

GP: Aw, well, I have to go back to training for now. :-( Hope to hear from you soon!

GP: Training is OVER! I’m so glad. Coach was in a foul mood all day long :-(

GP: Did I do something to make you angry? I really DID put my phone away while I skated, promise!!

GP: Ah, I’m probably being silly and you’re just busy. Probably. But, if you’re mad, please tell me why?

GP: I should probably stop texting you in case I’m bothering you, right? I’m being clingy, aren’t I? Oh god, you probably think I’m creepy, don’t you? I’m sorry. I’ll stop now. Please don’t hate me?

Yuuri felt a surge of guilt – he HAD more or less told the other he’d keep texting him and then disappeared. Biting his lip, he hesitated – how was he supposed to apologise? The Russian skater even thought it was HIS fault somehow!

Yuuri: Hi! I’m SO sorry, I didn’t mean to ignore you!

Yuuri: I’m not mad or anything, not at all! I had to help my mum make dinner we were really busy with guests tonight!

Yuuri: I’m really sorry I made you feel bad :-(

Once again, the reply was nearly instantaneous.

GP: Oh, I’m so relieved!

GP: I thought you were mad about earlier.

Yuuri: Nono! And you’re not bothering me or being clingy either. I like that you want to talk to me. ^^

GP: Shark teeth?

Yuuri: Huh?

GP: ^^ ← we call these shark teeth.

Yuuri: Oh, they’re a smile! Eyes closed, basically.

GP: Ohhhhhh I see. ^^

GP: That’s cute! ^^ And I’m glad you don’t mind that I’m clingy because I sort of… really am.

Yuuri hesitated before typing out his next reply – he knew what he wanted to say but wasn’t quite sure if actually doing so would scare the other man off. It was the fact that they didn’t know each other that ultimately made the decision for him – he could be as honest as he wanted to this way. Typing was easier than talking.

Yuuri: That’s good, probably. I told you, I can be a bit shy? So, clingy is good.

The other man replied with a seemingly never-ending stream of hearts that made Yuuri smile and blush just a little – he was incredibly relieved that their misunderstanding had been resolved so easily.


	7. Chapter 7

Yuuri: So, what are you up to, now, that you’re done with training?

GP: Hm, I got groceries and I’m now prepping meals. Isn’t it quite late for you?

Yuuri: It’s 11. Later than usual but not that bad. As I said, night owl!

GP: I remember. Well, good for me I get to talk to you longer <3 What do you like to eat?

Yuuri: Katsudon! It’s the best dish in the world especially when my mother makes it. It’s a pork cutlet bowl with rice, egg and onion.

GP: That… sounds so good.

Yuuri: I only have it when I win competitions.

GP: Ohhh is that where your username came from?

Yuuri: Sort of. It’s a joke my sister made and I couldn’t come up with anything better.

GP: Ohhh I see!

Yuuri: What about yours?

GP: Favourite colour and dogs obviously! :-D

Yuuri: I see^^ So what are you cooking? And what do you like to eat?

GP: Just vegetables and chicken mostly. I’m preparing for next week. I like lots of food! I love trying new food in new places too! Have you travelled much?

Yuuri: A little bit but mostly in Asia. You?

GP: Quite a bit. Europe and the Americas. I’ve been to Japan once too!

Yuuri: Oh?

GP: Mhm, Tokyo. For a competition.

Yuuri: Do you take your Makya with you? When you travel?

GP: No. I wish I could but she’s quite old now, so I get a sitter for her. It’s nice to be home with her though. What about your Vicchan?

Yuuri: Oh I don’t take him with me. He’s usually happy to stay at home with my family.

GP: You said you have a sister… any more siblings? Older? Younger?

Yuuri: Just me and my older sister and my parents. How about you?

GP: I’m an only child. Do you get along with your family?

Yuuri: Yes. We’re all very close, even if my older sister can be a bit prickly. ^^

GP: Do they support your skating?

Yuuri: They always have. I often feel bad because I didn’t choose to work in the family business, but they’ve always been supportive.

GP: That’s so wonderful! Say, can I ask you something?

Yuuri: Of course!

GP: About… our identities. Do you… want to know who I am?

He frowned at the screen… yes, he wanted to know, but a name would change nothing, and he actually enjoyed the ease with which they were talking. Was it worth giving that up for a name?

Yuuri: I don’t want to know. I mean, I like talking to you and it’s so… easy? Easier than normal for me. If I know who you are, I might worry more.

GP: Okay, that’s fair. It’s really easy talking to you too.

Yuuri didn’t ask if the other wanted to know his identity – where Russia had dozens and dozens of world-class skaters, Japan did… not. If he really wanted to, finding the identity of someone even as relatively far down the totem-pole as Yuuri would be easy. In other words, if the other wanted, he could learn about Yuuri easily.

GP: Do you need to go to sleep? I don’t want to keep you awake. <3

He smiled at his phone yet again.

Yuuri: That’s fine. It’s my rest day tomorrow. No need to get up early.

GP: Ohhh!!! Me too! Say, you wouldn’t by chance… like video games, would you?

Yuuri: I do, actually.

GP: OMG we really ARE a perfect match then! Do you want to play something together? What do you play?

Yuuri: I don’t play a lot but I have an old World of Warcraft account? Do you play that? Most of my other games aren’t for multiplayer.

No reply came for a few minutes and he wondered why – had admitting he played WoW been too nerdy? He really didn’t play a lot, but when he’d injured his leg a few years back and had been banned from skating AND ballet, Nishigori had introduced him to the game and he’d spent a few weeks playing nearly every day. It had been put aside quickly when he was allowed back on the ice and then forgotten. He also had a PlayStation with several games, but none of them allowed him to play online – he’d never really had the friends to play with, something he now regretted. After about ten minutes, his phone buzzed several times in a row.

GP: Sorry for taking so long! <3 <3 <3

GP: I have a World of Warcraft account!!! We can play together if you want? I’d love to!

GP: If you’re asleep and only get this tomorrow, don’t worry about it.

Yuuri: Not asleep yet. Sounds fun! Text me when you wake up tomorrow and want to play?

GP: Wow! That’s perfect! So, for now have a good night and sweet dreams! <3 <3 <3

Yuuri texted back a quick thanks and put his phone down – he double-checked he still had the right login information for his account and could actually play. With that taken care off, he fell straight into bed and went to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Not a morning person by any definition, Yuuri let himself sleep in that day as well. Rest days were precious for that reason alone – the ability to sleepily stumble downstairs for breakfast was as important to him as an hour-long soak in the onsen after.

That morning, he did neither of those things. He was awake after seven hours of sleep and could not for the life of himself fall back asleep. Instead, he got up and ate breakfast. For perhaps the first time in his life he voluntarily went out for a run to burn off the nervous energy he’d woken with.

He wasn’t naturally too patient, and he wanted to talk to GoldenPuppy again as soon as possible… Of course, he knew that the other man was probably comfortably asleep by now. Yuuri had cursed the time difference more than once that morning.

In the end it was only a little past noon that he received a text – several hours later than he’d wanted, and earlier than expected. That made it only barely past sunrise for most of Russia, really. Still, his heart skipped a beat at the message.

GP: Ohaijou! Did I spell that right? Probably not! I got up early because I was so excited, I hope you don’t mind. I really look forward to playing with you. If you’re busy or not ready or changed your mind, just let me know though, I don’t mind! Looking forward to hearing from you! <3

He texted back immediately, already half-sprinting back to his room and skidding to a stop in front of his laptop.

Yuuri: Almost right! Ohayou! Is it Dobroye Utra back? I’d love to play whenever you’re ready!

GP: !!!!! <3 <3 <3 Utro* I can’t believe you looked that up for me, so sweet! Let’s log in and team up?

Yuuri: Let’s. What’s your Battle Tag?

He quickly added the account that Victor indicated, and they switched to the in-game chat. Neither had suggested something like voice-calling and Yuuri was a little glad for it – typing was coming easy to him. Talking might… not. Still, he nearly fell off his chair when he saw the character the other man used.

A max-level fury warrior with equipment that made him want to cry a little, Yuuri felt painfully inadequate with his level 22 hunter. Studying the other man’s character profile, he was actually a little surprised – IceTiger13 wasn’t… what he expected from the kind of person that sent a dozen hearts in a text.

So, a little excited and extremely nervous, they teamed up.

Fifteen minutes later, Yuuri didn’t understand anything anymore. GoldenPuppy… sucked. There was no other way to put it. The man could barely walk in a straight line, much less accomplish anything at all. Yuuri had taken care of most things so far, the much, much more advanced character trailing behind, mostly apologising for being a burden.

HuntaYuu: How did you max out your character?

IceTiger13: Playing?

HuntaYuu: How long did it take you?

IceTiger13: Oh, quite a long time. How about you? You’re much lower level than me but you’re so GOOD! <3

The Russian skater’s character did a little dance – oddly enough, that alone he was extremely good at doing even without instructions like he needed in combat. Yuuri couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been carried to his level, or maybe just done it without much fighting? He knew there were people who played like that.

HuntaYuu: Do you prefer going fishing or something to fighting?

IceTiger13: What do YOU like? :-)

HuntaYuu: I don’t mind, I just want you to have fun? 

IceTiger13: …

IceTiger13: …

IceTiger13: Can I tell you a secret?

IceTiger13: It’s a bit embarrassing though.


	9. Chapter 9

HuntaYuu: Of course? What is it?

IceTiger13: This… sort of isn’t my account? I begged the nephew of my coach to lend me his? I’ve never played this game before today.

Yuuri nearly fell off his chair. It… certainly explained why the other man struggled so much, but it also raised questions, most importantly: Why?

HuntaYuu: Why didn’t you tell me?

IceTiger13: Well, you suggested playing and I didn’t want to disappoint you? I looked up the game when you mentioned playing it and I remembered seeing Yuri play something similar. I called him and asked, and he let me use his account in exchange for some help.

He flinched at the name – a coincidence? Was there really a Russian named Yuri that this person also knew? He bit his lip in sudden concern.

HuntaYuu: Yuri?

IceTiger13: Oh, yes, that’s the nephew of my coach. He’s only ten I think and wants to be a skater as well. I promised him I’d train with him a few times in exchange for borrowing the account ahaha 

HuntaYuu: Oh I see. You didn’t have to do that, you know.

IceTiger13: …

IceTiger13: Can I confess something else?

HuntaYuu: Of course.

IceTiger13: I’ve never played a video game with someone else in my life. I like playing them alone but that’s it. I, uh, looked up what Japanese teens like doing in their spare time? This was the closest I could get to something like an arcade.

IceTiger13: Please don’t hate me?

HuntaYuu: … I don’t hate you. It’s… sweet?

Yuuri was laughing a little hysterically at his screen. The other man had only been trying to accommodate him? That was both adorable and… odd and unnecessary? He wasn’t sure how to tell him that, really, but the fact that he was worried about Yuuri hating him when he’d been going out of his way to be nice, it was… so, so sweet.

IceTiger13: Oh god, I’ve messed it up, haven’t I? You think I’m lame.

HuntaYuu: Well………If I was going to think that it’d be because you can’t hit anything, not because of this.

IceTiger13: HEY!!!!!! So MEAN!!!! ;-;

HuntaYuu: I’m sorry, I’m sorry. No, but really, it’s nice that you were trying to find something I like, but what about you? What do you like to do? Maybe there is something else we can do together instead?

IceTiger13: Well… I don’t do that much if I don’t skate. I play with Makya, I sleep, and I skate. Sometimes I watch TV.

HuntaYuu: TV!

HuntaYuu: Maybe we could watch something together?

IceTiger13: How?

HuntaYuu: Well if we watch it online, we could press play at the same time and maybe chat while we watch? It’s just an idea. We don’t have to.

IceTiger13: That.

IceTiger13: Is the BEST idea!!!! What do you like watching? How do I log out of this? Wait never mind I’ll call Yuri and tell him I deleted his account by accident, brb!


	10. Chapter 10

HuntaYuu: Wait! NO, don’t do that! He’ll be angry!!!

HuntaYuu: Hello?

HuntaYuu: Are you still there?

A few minutes later, he got a notification that IceTiger13 had logged off and he did the same, a little concerned for the other man. He knew well how… serious some World of Warcraft players got about their accounts and clearly this kid – how was a kid that young even allowed to play this much anyway? – had put a LOT of effort in.

When his phone buzzed not much later, Yuuri sighed in relief and checked the message immediately.

GP: Ahahahaha, he was so mad. I thought he was going to cry. He threatened to cut me with his knife shoes!!!! His knife shoes! So precious!! Sorry for the delay <3 Have you thought about what you want to watch?

Yuuri: Wow I don’t know what to say haha. Not really? Why don’t you pick something since I technically picked the game?

GP: So considerate <3 <3 <3 <3

GP: Do you like crime shows? Like CSI?

Yuuri: Sure! Is that what you want to watch?

GP: No, there’s a similar show though, called White Collar. It’s American so we can probably both find a way to watch?

Yuuri: Let’s do that then.

He’d never heard of it and really, he had no particularly strong feelings towards that type of show either, but if the other man wanted to watch, he was more than happy to do so. A quick search found him several, absolutely illegal streaming sites and he clicked on one he recognised the name of. The first episode ready and loaded, he texted the Russian skater as much.

GP: Ok! Me and Makya are ready to go! You are going to LOVE this. Shall we both click play at exactly 12 minutes past? That way we’ll be in the same place.

Yuuri: Perfect. Let’s do it!

GP: <3<3<3

Yuuri did as instructed, pressing play. He wasn’t sure what to expect, really. He was pleasantly surprised, he decided as they started episode two immediately after finishing the first. Not so much because of the show but because of the never-ending texts he received.

The other man commented on everything – from how handsome he found Matt Bomer to how he could totally see the two main characters being gay to how sweet he thought the special agent’s marriage was. He asked Yuuri questions too – who did Yuuri think was the most attractive actor on the show, had he ever committed a crime, did he like the American accents and so on.

It was… fun. For a while, Yuuri worried that the other man might mind that he didn’t contribute that much to the conversation but he really didn’t get that impression – the man seemed perfectly happy to just carry on sharing his thoughts, and he was delighted when Yuuri gave his own in return, not once even hinting it bothered him that they weren’t ‘even’ in that regard.

Yuuri was relieved. He enjoyed being privy to the Russian skater’s thoughts, much as they occasionally were a bit mean – really, the special agent’s outfits weren’t ugly at all, nor did his suit deserve to be set on fire, surely? Yuuri didn’t know anything about fashion. Still, he liked the texts. It wasn’t often that he was with someone that just… let him be. His friend Yuuko always tried to get him to come out of his shell, and much as he appreciated that too, he didn’t always want it.

This nameless, faceless Russian on the other hand was meeting him where he was, was happy with what Yuuri was giving without demanding more, at all. In fact, the other man’s open delight at his own comments made him feel far more confident than anyone’s demands for similar things ever had.

He smiled down at his phone yet again, only half watching the show on the screen when a new text arrived.

GP: Pause for a minute please?

Yuuri: Done! Paused at 12:46. Everything okay?

GP: Just a second!

GP: And I’m back! Sorry about that! I ordered myself some food and it just got here! It’s almost lunch-time here!

A quick glance at the clock revealed that several hours had passed – he hadn’t even noticed.

Yuuri: What did you get?

GP: Ohhhh some local Russian take-out. It’s definitely the best, an old lady cooks all the food and it’s DELICIOUS!!!

Yuuri: It’s not better than my mom’s katsudon. Nothing is better than that.

GP: This might be. Wait a second.

After a few moments, a new message arrived – this one, however, had a photo attached to it. For a moment, he hesitated to download it, but then realised he was being silly – what could possibly be in the photo that would be so troublesome after all?

Indeed, it was a low coffee table with several plates filled with food – too much for any one person, really, but still.

Yuuri: That looks AMAZING!!!

GP: I know!! You should try Russian food if you get the chance.

Yuuri: I might have to now. Maybe you can share some recipes?

GP: I don’t really cook, sorry… but I can ask my coach! He has a wife, she’ll have some.

Yuuri: You’re very close to your coach, aren’t you?

GP: I guess? He’s been with me since I started competing in junior’s. He practically raised me… and he says I’m the reason he’s going bald.

Yuuri: … is he?

GP: Welllllllll

Yuuri: … are you the reason?

GP: Wellllllll

Yuuri: I knew it! Well, I’m sure he loves you anyway. You’re a very likeable person. At least that’s what I think.

GP: <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

GP: Nobody has ever said that about me! Usually people just call me annoying. Yuri calls me an old geezer and ‘uncool’. I think it’s the only insult he knows to be honest.

Yuuri: Well don’t go teaching him any others.

GP: He goes to a public school. I won’t have to, besides, video games probably taught him enough any way.

Yuuri: He sounds very interesting.

GP: Not as interesting as you. <3

Yuuri: Thank you. Nobody has ever said that to me either. Do you want to eat and then keep watching later?

GP: No, let’s watch. I’ll eat during.

They did just that – somehow, GoldenPuppy managed to eat, text and watch all at the same time – at least the amount of texts and messages he received didn’t reduce any and mentions of how good his food was instead joined the mix. He was making Yuuri hungry by proxy and it was only his diet for skating that kept him from getting himself something really unhealthy as a snack.

It was also skating that eventually had him saying goodnight – getting up early the next morning meant that staying up past 1am just wasn’t possible. The other man understood of course – they had spent more than half a day with each other… without so much as a break. Yuuri had even had dinner in his room, much to the amusement of his family, to whom he had NOT explained what he was doing.

Even for him, talking to a complete stranger all day long was a little odd. Despite the amount of time they spent talking, Yuuri felt a little sad when he laid down and set his alarm for the next morning – he LIKED talking to the man he had tentatively dubbed his new friend – inside his mind, at least.


	11. Chapter 11

Yuuri woke up miserable. Not just because he had to get up after less sleep than usual but also because he felt sick. He usually had a pretty good immune system and rarely got ill at all, but that morning he knew he had a fever before he so much as opened his bleary eyes.

Stumbling downstairs, his sister was all too happy to confirm it for him – apparently, he looked like death, and thus his run, ballet training and skating session were… cancelled. Half an hour later, he was back in bed, staring awkwardly at one of his Victor posters. It was one of his favourites – Victor’s Lilac Fairy program.

Sighing, Yuuri picked up his phone to read some news… only to do a double-take. He had… eleven new texts? That was… a lot.

Unlocking the screen, he saw that all of them were from GP. Had something happened? He worried a little as he pulled up the conversation.

GP: Sweet dreams, Yuuri! I had LOTS of fun today and I hope you did too! <3 <3 I can’t remember the last time I had that much fun doing something other than skating! Thank you. 

GP: Ahhh you’re probably asleep by now, aren’t you? I still have a few hours to go and I’m already so… bored! I walked Makya and it was great fun, but then I came back and didn’t have anything to do. It’s weird but I can’t even remember what I normally do on my own? I almost want to go to the rink to skate, haha! 

GP: That was definitely a weird thing to say, wasn’t it? Oh you must think so. I mean, we barely know each other. I know you said you like it, but you’d tell me if I was too much right? You’d tell me if I annoyed you? I can be quieter if you want. Less clingy. Just let me know how you want me to be and I’ll be that, ok? <3 <3 <3

GP: Urgh it’s time to go to bed and I can’t sleep… I’m worried you were only being nice to me and don’t actually like talking to me? Or I’m being silly, who knows. Yuri says I’m definitely being an idiot and when I mentioned it to coach, he said I shouldn’t be creepy. Even my rink mate said pushing too much can be a problem?

GP: I didn’t even ask what you wanted from me. A friend? A brother? A father figure? A boyfriend maybe? I know we met on a dating app but that doesn’t mean that you’re even interested in that, right? Especially not with me. I just wanted you to know I’m fine with whatever you’d like.

GP: I mean, whatever you decide, I’ll be okay with that. Even if it’s just friends. 

GP: I’ll stop now, sorry to bother you. 

GP: It’s been an hour and a half and now I can’t sleep because I’m so worried you’ll hate me :-( 

GP: Ok I googled and I’m DEFINITELY being creepy right now, aren’t I? I should be trying to be cool… Sorry. 

GP: Makya crawled into bed with me and stole my blanket!!! I’m going for a midnight run, I guess. Hope you’re sleeping better than me!

GP: Oh god, I just looked back and checked… I sent you over 350 messages today??? That was definitely too much, I’m REALLY sorry!!! Please forgive me?

That was… something. Mouth hanging open, Yuuri re-read the messages. He’d had no idea what had made the man feel so bad about their conversation – Yuuri had enjoyed every minute of it. He hadn’t known how many messages GP had sent him, but he hadn’t cared either. 

It tore at his heart that the other man was so worried about it. Tentatively, he started typing out his response, tapping what was probably the longest text of his life.


	12. Chapter 12

Yuuri: Hello there! Good morning, I guess? When you see this, at least. I’m really sorry you were so worried about yesterday. I promise, I wasn’t humouring you and I wasn’t unhappy either. I had a lot of fun with you and I really liked that we messaged so much. You’re wonderful to talk to and I really like you. I was a little worried too, that you’d think I’m boring. People often do? I’d just like for you to be yourself with me. I don’t want you to be anything other than that, okay? Anyway, I actually woke up sick this morning and I’m spending the day in bed because I have a fever, so if and when you wake up, if you want to talk about this some more, just message me, I’ll be around. I’d love to talk to you again. <3

He felt a little silly sending the message, a little embarrassed at his own words, but he also desperately wanted to assure the other man that his texts were welcome. If it took an embarrassing message to make him feel better, Yuuri would damn well send that message. He let his eyes flutter shut not expecting a response – it was only about four in the morning in Russia – not that he knew EXACTLY where his friend was. Russia was a big place.

His phone beeped within three minutes.

GP: !!!!!!!!!!!!

GP: <3 <3

GP: I’m sorry for doubting you. Thank you for being so sweet? How did I get that lucky? I’m sorry for freaking out too.

Yuuri: It’s okay. Was there… a reason for it?

GP: Not really? Uhm… I spoke to pretty much all of my friends yesterday and one way or another absolutely all of them called me annoying? I know they were mostly joking and that I WAS being a bit annoying, but it made me worry.

Yuuri: I don’t think you’re annoying at all. If your friends can’t see that that’s their loss.

GP: <3 <3 <3 be still my beating heart.

Yuuri: Are you feeling better? Shouldn’t you be asleep?

GP: Yes, and yes. I often struggle to sleep when I’m upset? How are you feeling? Are you really sick?

Yuuri: Unfortunately, so. I had to cancel ballet, skating, even my run… ok I don’t mind missing the run.

GP: You don’t like running?

Yuuri: No. Even with music it’s… boring.

GP: I have a treadmill in my apartment, so I don’t have to go outside for it. It faces the TV. You should get one!

Yuuri: Haha, my room is a bit too small! Nice setup though.

GP: Mhm. I live pretty far north so there is often too much snow to run outside anyway.

Yuuri: I get that. We are so close to the sea that it’s the opposite – snow only happens once or twice a year and it never stays long.

GP: Do you like snow?

Yuuri: I do! I always play with Vicchan in it! He loves it.

GP: Your poodle… any chance you’d be willing to show me a photo? You don’t have to.

He quickly thumbed through his photos for one from the last time they had played in the snow together, several months ago. The one he chose was a lucky shot – Vicchan buried in a pile of snow, his butt sticking up and his black nose only just visible in the snow, the rest of his face mostly hidden. He sent the picture.

GP: <3 <3 <3 I’m in love. He is amazing.

Yuuri: He is!! What about your Makya?

A minute later, he received a photo. It was a little hard to make out at first, until he realised what he was looking at – the photo was taken from one side of a bed. On the other side, on her back, laid a big brown poodle, taking up way too much space, all four legs in the air, her snout open and tongue lolling out just a bit.

It was a little tough to see but a pretty cute picture still.

Yuuri: She takes up half the bed!

GP: More than that if I let her ;-;

Yuuri: My Vicchan just curls up by my feet. He’s a great little heater.

GP: I’ll bet. Nobody else there to warm your feet then?

GP: Ohgod, I’m sorry that was so inappropriate to ask. Ignore me.

Yuuri: It’s fine. I don’t have a lover or anything. Do you?

GP: Nope! I DID sign up to a dating site, you know.

Yuuri: Well! I did too? Why would you think…?

GP: Haha, plenty of people use those to make friends and such you know? I didn’t want to assume.

Yuuri: Well I’d love to make more friends of course but it wasn’t like that. I was just… I happened to come across it and thought ‘why not’.

GP: I see. And what did you think?

Yuuri: Well, so far, the page introduced me to you and I’m having a lot of fun talking to you. I guess that’s really good?

GP: Definitely! I said it before, but I was surprised to have a pretty much perfect match. What did you enter?

Yuuri: Nothing too specific. Just… someone fun, I suppose? Less shy than me. How about you? 

GP: Oh, I wasn’t that specific either, really.

Yuuri: I don’t believe you.

He wasn’t entirely sure why he sent that text other than that he DIDN’T believe the other man. GoldenPuppy was… intense in everything he did, and very different from Yuuri. He simply didn’t believe they’d have the same motivations, and the next text proved him right.

GP: That obvious?

Yuuri: Just a little.

GP: Well… the truth is, I spent several hours on it. Filling out every bit of detail I could think of for what I was looking for, and about myself. I don’t like doing things half-way and so I overdid it a little.

Yuuri: Wow! That’s really impressive! That you put so much thought into it, I mean. I’m just… surprised I was a match somehow? I feel like the software short-changed you a bit. ^^

GP: WHAT??? You must be joking!! We get on so well! What more could I possibly have wanted?

Someone less shy, a more skilled skater, someone who didn’t need anonymity to hide behind in order to be a decent person. Someone more like GoldenPuppy himself, and definitely someone less like Yuuri.

He only realised he hadn’t responded in a while when another text beeped.

GP: I’m really happy we were matched up. We only spoke a few times and yet I feel like I’ve known you my whole life… and I don’t even know your name!

Yuuri: I kind of feel the same way. And I’m happy too.

GP: It feels weird… but also really not weird, you know?

Yuuri: I don’t think there’s anything too weird about it.

GP: No? My rink-mates made fun of me for it when I mentioned you.

He was getting the impression that most of the people in the Russian’s life weren’t nice to him at all – an unkind assessment maybe, but every time he mentioned any of them, it seemed to be over something they’d said to make him feel self-conscious.

Yuuri: You… mentioned me?

GP: Well, you’re the most interesting thing that’s happened to me in a long while. So, I got a little excited. Do you… mind?

Yuuri: Not at all. I was just surprised.

GP: <3

Yuuri wasn’t really aware of it when his eyes fluttered closed and his phone slipped from his grasp. He dimly remembered that he was, in fact sick, and probably should have tried to sleep instead of ignoring his symptoms… but then the world faded to black, and he stopped thinking entirely.


	13. Chapter 13

Yuuri woke up feeling a lot better. A glance out the window revealed that it was early afternoon – he’d slept for a few hours and felt a lot better for it. On autopilot, he reached for his phone, fallen off the edge of the bed.

When he had new text notifications, he wasn’t even surprised. All from GP, of course. He opened the thread with a smile.

GP: I hope we can be good friends. Maybe… if you’re interested… something more? I feel really comfortable with you, but I don’t want to scare you off.

GP: You haven’t responded in a while are you ok? Oh, maybe you fell asleep? If you are, sweet dreams! <3 <3 <3

GP: I’m going to try to get some as well. Text me if you wake up or get back?

Only three messages – rather restrained, Yuuri thought. Stretching languidly, he typed a response.

Yuuri: Yes, sorry, I fell asleep. I didn’t mean to, it just… happened. I hope you’re sleeping better now. And for the rest… I think I just… want to keep talking for now? I’m having a lot of fun like this.

That time, he didn’t receive an immediate reply – in fact, he didn’t get one for several hours, and then only a ‘<3’, not that he minded. Being sick meant that his family was nice enough to bring him food, and that he could spend the day doing absolutely nothing. Naturally, he watched skating videos on YouTube, a great deal of which featured Victor Nikiforov.

He was strangely grateful to the man. Randomly describing him to a dating site program had gotten him a new friend, one he got along with so easily it felt… natural. He was anxious by default but felt less so with GoldenPuppy. The fact that the other man had insecurities and made no move to hide them, it made him feel better about his own.

GP was over the top, he had learned quickly, and it may well be exactly what he needed – at least, that’s what it felt like. Yuuri had several more naps that day, all the while clutching his phone a little more closely than he needed to. When his phone buzzed again a little while later, he had unlocked it before the buzzing had even finished.

GP: Hello! Sorry for answering so late but I got in a short training session and SOMEONE told me not to text while skating. So mean!

Yuuri: Sorry I care about you not getting hurt!

GP: <3

GP: How are you feeling?

Yuuri: A lot better. How did training go?

GP: It was fine. Went well, even. Are you going to be healthy in time for your exhibition skate?

Yuuri: Probably. I don’t get sick very much or for very long.

GP: That’s good. I was so worried when I heard you were ill, I actually flubbed one of my jumps! My coach thought >I< was sick!

Yuuri: Oh no, I’m sorry!!

GP: I’m glad it’s nothing serious.

Yuuri: Not at all. Done with training for the day?

GP: Not yet, I’m just taking a break now. Since I started late, I’ll be training late too. What have you been up to?

Yuuri: Watching skating videos on Youtube, mostly.

GP: Oh? You like doing that?

Yuuri: Yes! Since I don’t have a coach, I learn a lot by watching pros skate.

GP: It’s a good strategy. You said you like Victor Nikiforov?

Yuuri: Yes! He was what got me into skating in the first place. Well, a friend that used to skate showed me his performances and he was just so amazing!!

GP: Wow! I didn’t know you were such a big fan!

Yuuri: Uhm. Hold on a minute.

He wasn’t quite sure what possessed him to snap a picture of his bedroom wall, but he did and texted it to his friend, all five posters on it.

The reply was instant.


	14. Chapter 14

GP: Wow! You really like Victor, huh? Is he your type?

Yuuri: Well… He’s beautiful? It’s not about that though, it’s about his skating. He’s just so… good! Do you like him too?

GP: Some programs more than others. I’m a little jealous though!

Yuuri: Huh?

GP: Well, you clearly have a thing for Russian figure skaters, I suppose.

Yuuri: It’s not like that!!! I didn’t know where you were from or what you do when we were matched!!!

GP: Mh, that’s true. I suppose I don’t need jealous after all since you picked me on your own, huh?

Yuuri: The software was what worked out we were compatible, remember? What about you though? What… I don’t suppose you have a ‘thing’ for awkward Japanese teenagers? That would be a little weird.

GP: WOW! No, no I don’t. I spent quite a bit of time thinking about what I would… like from a partner. I was very specific, so I suppose it wasn’t all that surprising that for a while all my matches didn’t have that much in common with me.

Yuuri: You said that before. What exactly does it mean?

GP: Oh you don’t know? If you check the email that tells you about that match, you can find some % scores. They tell you how well your interests, looks and lifestyle preferences match. Most of my matches had 70% or less.

Yuuri: Oh! I saw we matched 100% on interests but not the rest.

GP: <3 97% on looks and 95% on lifestyle. The highest I’ve ever seen.

Yuuri: That really is high.

GP: Why do you think I was so excited? You’re basically perfect! <3

Yuuri: Haha thank you but I’m far from perfect!

GP: I have an email that says otherwise.

Yuuri: I barely have one quad!

GP: So? We’re not competing against each other. Though, ohhhh if we were, I would totally help you with your program! I love being challenged!

Yuuri: I don’t think I’ll be good enough to compete internationally.

GP: Disagreed. I don’t think I know ANYONE who got a quad without a coach. I definitely wouldn’t have.

Yuuri: I guess in that case, I have to thank Victor Nikiforov. I watched slow motion videos of him jumping a quad toe until I figured it out.

GP: You should tell him if you meet him!

Yuuri: What? No, just no! I could never talk to him!!!

GP: Why not? He’s just a person.

Yuuri: I know that, but I have POSTERS on my wall of him! I couldn’t possibly!

GP: So? I’m sure he’d be delighted. He’s always nice to fans, isn’t he?

Yuuri: I named my DOG after him.

GP: Huh?

Yuuri: Vicchan. Vic-chan. Victor-chan. Chan is a Japanese suffix you attach to names of people you like.

GP: Wow! That’s amazing! I’ve always wanted someone to name their dog after me!!!!

Yuuri: With how many quads YOU have, I’m sure someone already has.

GP: I’m sure you’re right, but it’s not all about the quads, you know?

Yuuri: I do, I just… I get anxious? About performances, and then all I can think about are jumps and falling.

GP: I see. Ahhhh, I want to see you skate!!! Ohhh, if I watch that performance of yours next week, will I be able to figure out who you are?

Horror seared through him suddenly. He hadn’t thought anything of it when he’d mentioned that performance, but it WAS a big ice show, the biggest in Kyushu. There would be half a dozen exhibition skates there, most of them his age, but still… there was every chance the other WOULD figure it out. Knowing what he did about his quads… Yuuri felt his throat tighten in sudden panic, the phone slipping from his fingers.


	15. Chapter 15

If the other man saw him skate, he’d figure out Yuuri wasn’t all that, he’d figure out that he wasn’t interesting and that whatever fantasies he had constructed about him were false. He’d no longer want to talk to him and Yuuri would lose his friend, and it would just be his own fault because he couldn’t get over his stupid issues long enough to skate like someone who had been doing it as long as he had should.

Fingers shaking, he limply picked up his phone again.

Three texts. Of course.

GP: I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. You said you didn’t want to exchange names and I’m happy to keep things that way, really! I was only joking and I’m really sorry.

GP: Are you okay? Did I upset you? Did you fall asleep again? I really didn’t mean to! I won’t watch the ice show if that’s what you want, I promise! I like you too much to risk this just because I want to see you skate, I swear.

GP: … Are you there?

His fingers were still trembling when he started typing a response.

Yuuri: Yeah, I am. You can watch the skate if you want. I can’t stop you. Honestly, you could probably figure out who I am simply because of how terrible I’ll do.

GP: You don’t want me to see you skate, do you?

Yuuri: I already know you’re better and I don’t want you to be disillusioned.

GP: I wouldn’t be!!! I don’t care how well you skate, if it’s technically perfect or if you’d get a good score if, well, there was scoring on it! I just… I want to see what you’re like on the ice. If you’re as graceful as I’m imagining.

Yuuri: Ha! I can tell you now that I’m definitely not that!!!

GP: Okay, I won’t watch, promise. I really don’t want to make you uncomfortable or worried or whatever. I like you. If someday you get comfortable enough to let me see, I’d love that too, but until then, I can wait. <3

Yuuri: … if I let you see me skate, you’d know what I look like too.

GP: I see no downside. Besides, I know you’re gorgeous?

Yuuri: Huh?

GP: I was very specific in what I asked for on that site ;-) You’re kind, sweet, considerate and willing to put up with my annoyingness. Definitely gorgeous.

Yuuri: That… made no sense at all. Also, I’m definitely not. Just a normal-looking person.

GP: Describe yourself.

Yuuri: I’m about 5’3’’, have short black hair and brown eyes. Glasses. I’m pretty slim from all the skating. That’s… it, really.

GP: <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 You’re shorter than me! I love that! I bet you’re adorable!

Yuuri: How is that adorable? I might still grow a bit taller, you know.

GP: Don’t you like tall men? </3

Yuuri: Nono, it’s not like that!! I just meant… well, I’ve always wanted to be taller, that’s all.

GP: Oh, I see! I’m relieved. Here I was thinking I’d have to start slouching a bit. ;-)

Yuuri: Please don’t, that’s TERRIBLE for your back!

GP: … Wow! I won’t, I promise. How do you feel about long hair?

Yuuri: On men?

GP: Mhm.

Yuuri: Uhm… I don’t know? I’ve always worn mine short. I don’t think I personally know anyone with long hair.

GP: Victor keeps his long. Do you like it?

Yuuri: Victor’s hair is amazing! It’s always so shiny! Is yours that long?

GP: More or less. I’ve been thinking about cutting it off though, for the convenience. It tangles so easily!

Yuuri: You should do whatever you’re comfortable with. Unless your hair is as nice as Victor’s, then it would be criminal to cut it.

GP: Criminal, huh?

Yuuri: Oh god, I don’t know why I said that, I’m so sorry! I’m sure your hair is great! You should definitely cut it if you want it to be short, though.

GP: Well, people have been telling me I should cut it for my ‘image’. I’m not sure yet. What would you do if Victor cut his off? Since you like it so much.

Yuuri: I don’t think it would matter. He’d definitely look gorgeous either way.

GP: You really have a crush on him, don’t you?

Yuuri: NO!! It’s not like that… I just… I mean, I have eyes? Plus, my ballet teacher is always talking about how mature he’d look with short hair.

GP: Mature, huh? Not exactly his defining trait.

Yuuri: I wouldn’t know, I’ve never met him. Besides, a hair style doesn’t make you more or less mature.

GP: That is very true. Hm, suddenly I find myself wanting to keep it long. Maybe if I get it to look as nice as your Victor’s, you’ll like it too?

Yuuri: First of all, he’s not ‘my’ Victor, and secondly, I’m sure your hair is great. You seem like the type of person that would take good care of it. What… colour is it? If you don’t mind me asking?

GP: Of course not <3 I’m a kind of blonde. Do you like blondes?

Yuuri: Sure? There’s been lots of foreigners coming through my family’s onsen and when I was younger, I used to stare at them on occasion… it’s quite embarrassing!

GP: I don’t think so. It’s normal for kids to be curious. Can I ask you something else?

Yuuri: Anything you’d like :-)

GP: Are you gay? Bi?

Yuuri: I’m bi… but I prefer men. I had a crush on a girl when I was younger, but since then, it’s always been men for me. How about you?

GP: Definitely gay. So gay. When did you figure it out?

Yuuri: Uhm… I’ve sort of always known, I think? I specifically realised when I was about eleven and had a crush on a guy. How about you?

GP: I was a cliché… an older skater sort of… well, he offered to show me his if I showed him mine?

Yuuri: And you said yes?

GP: I said no, actually. I didn’t like him very much at all, but he made me realise that I liked men and not women.

Yuuri: I see. That’s quite a story. How old were you?

GP: Positively ancient – I was sixteen.

Yuuri: That’s not ancient at all :-)

GP: Well, I’m glad you don’t think less of me for it.

Yuuri: I would never. It’s different for everyone, isn’t it? The friend I mentioned, the one I had a crush on, she’s started dating a boy that used to bully me when she was only thirteen. They’re still together. My sister is already 25 and has never dated anyone at all. It depends on the person and there’s no right or wrong way.

GP: Wow! So mature! <3

Yuuri: Is that so?

GP: I don’t think most people your age think that way yet.

GP: Oh! Not that I’m that much older, I didn’t mean it like that!

Yuuri: It’s okay :-)

GP: Oh no, I have to get back to training, my rink mate found me :-(

Yuuri: …found?

GP: I may have hidden in the locker rooms when we started texting, haha!

Yuuri: !!! Don’t do that! Go have a good practice, I’ll be here when you’re done, okay? Good luck!

GP: Thank you <3 <3 <3 <3

He put his phone down with a smile and waited for sleep to take him over yet again. He knew he’d wake up if his phone buzzed again. 


	16. Chapter 16

In the end, Yuuri was sick for another day before he felt comfortable going back to his training. It was just in time too – any longer and he may have had to cancel his exhibition just in case. Skating when he wasn’t in good shape would only do him harm, after all.

GoldenPuppy had agreed. In fact, he agreed with most of Yuuri’s opinions on skating, shared most except for their very strong opinions on the best socks to wear. Yuuri liked cotton-blends, GP favoured proper wool. They had spent nearly two hours arguing over it the day before the exhibition, ending with a promise they’d each try the other kind of sock and then revisit the topic.

The day of the ice show came quicker than expected, and skating it was… easy, really. He’d expected it to be easier than a competition since it was an old program and he wasn’t being scored, but for the first time in possibly ever, he felt nothing but joy as he skated, barely any anxiety at all once he set foot on the ice.

He wasn’t used to it, and that alone nearly put him off a little… but then he’d thought back to the photo of Makya his friend had sent him a few hours before, the dog sitting on a couch like a human, a baseball cap pulled over her face. It had been adorable, and just like that Yuuri’s mind was back on positive things.

When he changed out of his costume into his regular clothes after his performance, he felt like he was floating a little. He resisted the temptation to check his phone for messages immediately, instead opting to go back and watch the other skaters. He knew several of them from national competitions and more than one came up to him to congratulate him on his performance.

Yuuri felt… like a winner, much as it hadn’t been a competition, and he relished the feeling more than he had expected. When the last skater was done and the actual show began, Yuuri hurried over to his family – they had all bought tickets to watch him and then the show together. Sinking into a seat next to Mari as the first group of skaters took the ice, he pulled out his phone to check for messages.

He was about 99% sure there would be some – there pretty much always were. It was more a question of how many there would be. To his surprise, only two. He grinned at his phone as he opened them, only for his smile to freeze immediately as his eyes scanned the first of the two texts.

He cursed under his breath.


	17. Chapter 17

GP: I’m so, so, so, sorry. I screwed up badly. I’ve been talking to my rink mates non-stop about you and my coach remembered me mentioning the exhibition you were skating today and ha gathered practically our entire rink together to make us all watch it. I am SO sorry!!!! I SWEAR I didn’t look at the screen at all and I covered my ears when they announced the names and such, but I probably maybe still saw you? Please don’t hate me, I really didn’t mean for this to happen!!!

GP: I totally understand if you’re angry but please forgive me? I swear I didn’t mean for this to happen. My coach said that all of the exhibition skates were really good, if that helps? Oh no, what am I saying of course it doesn’t. I’m so SORRY!!!!! Please let me know what I can do to make it up to you?

Yuuri: So… you didn’t actually watch me skate even though your coach practically forced you?

The answer was instant.

GP: That’s right! I even told him we’d agreed on me not watching but he wouldn’t listen. I’m SO sorry!!!

Yuuri: But… you’ve done nothing wrong?

GP: Welllllll…

Yuuri: ?

GP: I didn’t watch. I swear I didn’t watch you skate, but I looked up at one point when I thought the actual ice show had started and it hadn’t yet? And I saw all the exhibition skaters there? So I… I’ve kind of seen you?

He gulped and gripped his phone tighter. The excitement of the skate was still buzzing through him, hampered though it was by the news. Still, he wasn’t angry at his friend, not really. He believed it wasn’t his fault – if anything, the other could have just said absolutely nothing about the whole event, but he chose to confess to Yuuri.

Smiling softly, Yuuri typed an answer, deleted it, and settled on something else, something daring, braver than he normally would say.

Yuuri: I know what I want you to do to make it up to me.

GP: ANYTHING, I SWEAR!!!

Yuuri: :-)

Yuuri: So you’ve seen all seven of us, right?

GP: Yes?

Yuuri: What did you think?

GP: Think of… what?

Yuuri: Well you know what I look like now, not that you know which one I am. So… which one of them would you LIKE me to be?

GP: What do you mean?

Yuuri: Well, if you got to pick. Who would you want me to be?

GP: Oh god that is so CRUEL!! Are you really going to make me pick?

Yuuri: That’s right.

GP: Wow. I guess… wait let me look again.

Yuuri patiently put his phone away, wondering if he’d made a mistake – what if his friend picked someone else? What if he picked him? What if he figured it out? There wasn’t a lot of information about him online, but he HAD told the other man what he looked like… then he realised something: When all the skaters had stood together for the group shot the other man had probably seen, he hadn’t been wearing his glasses – none of the skaters had been wearing any.

That was good, probably. It took away the one distinctive feature he had mentioned to the other man. Thankfully, of the seven skaters, five shared his colouring – one had brown hair and one had his dyed a sort-of purple that suited him surprisingly well. He wasn’t particularly good-looking or anything either, and he’d had a huge, incredibly goofy smile on his face during the shot.

Patiently, he waited for the next text, pretending to pay attention to the ice show in front of him as he did so, with little success.

His phone buzzed.

GP: Yuuri Katsuki.


	18. Chapter 18

Yuuri: That’s… your pick?

GP: Oh yes. Definitely. No question about it.

Yuuri: I see.

GP: Did I get it right? Did I get it wrong? Oh god, I got it wrong and hurt your feelings, didn’t I? If that’s not you, I honestly don’t mind. I just… he’s really cute? REALLY cute? Not that the others aren’t… I just… please say something?

Yuuri: Honestly, it’s fine. I just wanted to know who you would like me to be.

GP: You’re not going to tell me if I was right or wrong?

Yuuri: Hm… no. Do you… want to know?

GP: So, so much, but you said you didn’t want to exchange names and I’ll respect that. Are you… are you still watching the ice show?

Yuuri: Yes, I’m sitting with my family.

GP: We’re all watching as well. One of my rink mates is really into it. It’s almost weird. He’s… crying?

Yuuri recognised the change in topic of course, but he was more than grateful for it. He hadn’t REALLY expected to be chosen – the other man had seemed so determined too, that he WANTED it to be Yuuri? He wasn’t sure what to make of that, so avoidance seemed a good option.

Yuuri: …Why? I haven’t been paying much attention to the show.

GP: Me neither, honestly. My heart is still pounding in my throat from just now. It’s something about his ex-girlfriend, I think.

Yuuri: Oh, is this the one that introduced you to the site we met on?

GP: That’s right. His girlfriends break up with him all the time. It’s sort of pitiful.

Yuuri: I’m sorry to hear that.

GP: Mh, it’s fine. I don’t even know why I’m talking about this, I’m… really nervous right now. Are you mad?

Yuuri: Not at all. I know something that might cheer you up though.

GP: ?

Yuuri quickly tapped his way into his gallery app and selected half a dozen pictures of Vicchan being cute before sending them all over at once. Not entirely surprisingly, the immediate answer was a long string of hearts. He smiled down at his phone before watching the show for a bit – his sister had started to give him pointed looks for being on his phone so much.

He lasted exactly five minutes before turning down the brightness of his screen and opening the text message conversation again.

GP: Thank you. So much. That really made me feel better.

GP: Your Vicchan is THE BEST. After Makya.

GP: Here she is, sleeping on my shoes so I can’t leave.

Yuuri opened the photo – indeed, a furry butt was solidly placed on a pair of what looked to be very nice-looking loafers. The rest of her was curled out of sight, nose tucked under a coat-rack. Adorable.

Yuuri: So sweet. Tied for gold, remember?

GP: Mhm. Can’t say I ever have been, but I’d share with you ;-)

Yuuri: Oh, me neither. I’ve never really done better than silver and even that just once.

GP: You medalled without a coach? I’ve never even heard of something like that.

GP: You don’t give yourself enough credit.

Yuuri: Have you won golds?

GP: A few, here and there.

Yuuri: Very impressive.

GP: Thank you <3 It’s not about the medals for me.

Yuuri: It’s about the ice, isn’t it? How it feels to really skate well, to have all your hard work pay off?

GP: …

GP: <3 <3 <3

GP: NOBODY has ever just understood that. How are you even real?

Yuuri: It’s just… it’s the same for me. I started dancing because I loved the movement and I started skating for more or less the same reason. I think it’s amazing we do it for the same reason though.

GP: YOU are the amazing one here.

Yuuri: … Even if I may not be Yuuri Katsuki?

GP: Honestly, I don’t care. I like you, a lot. The fact that Yuuri Katsuki is my type doesn’t change that at all. Between you both, I’d pick you any time of the day.

GP: And I’m sorry if that was too forward.

Yuuri: It wasn’t. It was… really nice. Thank you. I like you too.

He spent the rest of the ice show staring at the ice dancers with the same goofy smile he’d worn after his exhibition earlier – GP’s words had made him feel just as happy as the successful skate had, not that he was quite sure why.


	19. Chapter 19

Two months later, Yuuri was pretty sure that he was either in love or at least heavily crushing on his friend. They still hadn’t exchanged names, or showed each other their faces. They HAD called each other a few times and spoken directly.

Yuuri’s friend had a lovely, smooth voice with a stronger accent than expected. He’d spent the first few calls beet-red and stuttering quite a bit before he’d finally been able to relax a little and enjoy their talks.

He’d learned so, so much about his friend he felt like they’d been speaking their entire lives. They knew what food the other liked, what books they read, shows they had watched, what grades they got in school and precisely what steps and jumps and moves they each struggled with while skating.

He was over the moon with it all… except for one problem. Not having a face or name to go with GoldenPuppy, at some point, without him realising, he’d started substituting Victor Nikiforov’s face for the unknown one. They spoke about him on occasion, comparing their opinions on his work. Yuuri usually loved it, GP… did not. Not as much, anyway.

However it had happened, when he closed his eyes during their calls, Yuuri could practically picture an excited Victor on the other end of the line rather than whoever GP was… and he hated it. It wasn’t fair to his friend, and he couldn’t even tell him his thoughts on the matter.

That was the worst part of it because he could tell him just about everything else. When he learned that Yuuko was pregnant, he’d told his friend before he’d even gotten home, and the man’s first reaction had been concern – was Yuuri upset his old crush was pregnant, did he want to talk about it. 

He hadn’t been upset at all, he’d been delighted. Both for Yuuko and because the Russian man’s first and only concern was Yuuri. He wasn’t used to that much attention, and quite shamefully, he’d grown to love the other man’s never-ending interest in him.

He didn’t know what he found so interesting, exactly, but he had learned not to question it. It wasn’t like he was much better – he soaked up every bit of information about him with the same fervour that he used to collect newspaper clippings on Victor Nikiforov.

Their conversations were always platonic – or at the very least, almost entirely platonic. Every once in a while, the Russian made a comment or two that had Yuuri stuttering like he had done in the beginning, but every time it happened, the other man graciously backed off and let him have enough space to be comfortable again.

For all that he was pushy and at times a little aggressive, he never pushed too far. Yuuri… well, he was pretty sure he was in love. He never had been before, but for what it was worth, he was sure that what he felt was that. Yuuri was torn from his musings by the ring of his phone.

He didn’t need to check in order to know who it was – GP had his own assigned ringtone.

Smiling happily, he picked up, pleased when the other man’s heavy accent purred a hello. “How was your training?” “Mhh, it was good. I’m tired though. How about you? It was your rest day, wasn’t it?” “Yes. I spent most of the day in bed.”

He chuckled at the other man’s groan. “That’s not fairrrrr! You can’t just say things like that. Now I just want to crawl into bed with youuuu!” Yuuri shivered – the comment in and of itself was nothing unusual, nor was the way his heart skipped a beat as soon as the words registered.

If he followed their usual pattern, he would now either complain or laugh awkwardly. For once… Yuuri didn’t want that. He wanted something… different for once. “Oh?” He asked, hastily pulling his blanket higher so that he was covered save for his hair on the pillow. Quickly snapping a picture of himself under the covers, he checked to make sure nothing identifiable was visible and texted it to the other man, heart racing.


	20. Chapter 20

“Did you text me something?” “Just a photo.” “Oh, is it another one of Vicchan? He’s just so cute when he-“ The other man broke off quite suddenly, the only sound he heard a choked-off whine. “Something wrong?” After a long pause, the Russian cleared his throat. “N-No. Nothing is wrong. You’ve never…”

Suddenly, Yuuri felt self-conscious. He’d assumed the other man would LIKE him flirting back… had sending him a teasing photo of himself in bed been too much? “D-Did you not like it? I’m sorry, I just thought-“ “No!” The other man practically yelled in his haste to interrupt Yuuri. “No, it’s not that I don’t like it.” He whispered something that sounded like a Russian curse. “I do, I just didn’t expect it? You’ve never… flirted back? I thought you weren’t interested.”

Yuuri swallowed thickly. “I wasn’t sure… how to respond? But I am. Interested that is.” “Oh. Oh, I see. That’s good. That’s… great.” Breathless laughter sounded through their call. “I’m actually really happy! I was worried that I was making you uncomfortable with it.” “No, it wasn’t that. I just… I’m not good at stuff like that.”

“Oh, oh me neither. Maybe… we can figure it out together?” “I’d like that.” The Russian’s next words were barely above a whisper. “Me too.” “Did you… was there something you wanted to do tonight?”

They often spent their time watching something together, or even playing games while chatting. They’d gone running once – Yuuri outside, his friend on his treadmill. It had been awkward because of their laboured breathing, though and thus had been shelved in favour of easier activities.

That night, they stuck to simply laying down and talking, the same way they’d done dozens of times. Nothing was really different, except to Yuuri, it felt that way. He’d finally had the courage to reciprocate, to flirt back rather than to shy away. It felt… exhilarating. It made him want to do it again, and again and again.

The next morning, Yuuri woke when his phone buzzed with a familiar tone. Opening the notificati, he saw there were three texts, actually. A photo and two normal messages. His finger hovered over the picture, but the last text made him hesitate. He read the one above the photo first.

GP: So… after yesterday, I thought… I wanted to reciprocate. For the photo. So here you go. Please don’t hate me.

The one after was the one that gave him pause.

GP: Oh god why did I do that I am SO stupid!!!!! Please, if you don’t want to, don’t even look at the photo. I was sleepy and kind of horny when I woke up and I shouldn’t have taken it much less sent it, so if you want to pretend I didn’t send it, go ahead.

Finger still hovering, another message came in.

GP: Of course, if you want to see me in bed, go right ahead. I just… don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything.

He pressed the download button and eagerly waited.

The photo, once downloaded, made him whimper – he was talking to an actual god. There wasn’t a gram of fat on the SHIRTLESS man’s body, only perfect, pale skin, muscle definition that frankly made him jealous and just a hint of hipbone where the man’s trousers sat… The picture cut off below his collarbone, with one hand splayed next to that perfect body, the other one presumably holding the phone.

Yuuri had never felt so gay in his life.

He gulped and pulled up his keyboard to respond.

Yuuri: Hi there! I, uh, looked? You’re beautiful.

He sent the message before he could think better of it, before he could regret it. He didn’t receive an answer, not for a while. When he did, it wasn’t the heart or joke he expected, instead, it was just one word.

GP: Really?

As if the man wasn’t sure somehow? Yuuri frowned at his phone. Surely, he had to know? Was he fishing for compliments? No, that wasn’t his style. He sighed, trying to think of a good response.

Yuuri: Very much so. Surely you know that?

GP: Hahaha well I suppose? I just… ok, so I don’t want you to blame yourself for what I’m about to say because it’s not your fault at ALL and I know I was being a bit stupid, yeah?

GP: I’ve been flirting with you for so LONG and without response… I kind of lost confidence in myself a bit? And I know that’s stupid because you didn’t even know what I look like but I just did anyway? And it’s NOT your fault… I just… I worried. You have a crush on Victor Nikiforov. What if I can’t keep up?

Yuuri’s lips twitched up into an amused smile.

Yuuri: First off, you made my mouth water and I am currently blushing scarlet for even telling you that. Secondly, I do NOT have a crush on him and if I did which I don’t, I’d still pick you over him. Besides, don’t you have a crush on Yuuri Katsuki? Can you really talk?

GP: I have as much of a crush on Yuuri as you do on Victor. Less, actually, because I only have one poster and you have like four.

Yuuri: Six. You have a poster of Yuuri? Where did you even get one? He's not famous.

GP: …Maybe? Does that bother you? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten one, but I’ve been watching his skating and it’s so… good? He’s so musical, his body moves like he makes music when he skates. I sound like a fanboy, don’t I?

Yuuri: A little. It… doesn’t bother me. Do my posters bother you?

GP: Ah, just a bit. I’m kind of jealous. I mean… how can I even compare, haha? I’m just me and he’s, well, they’re calling him Living Legend and he’s only the same age as me? It’s crazy.

Yuuri: Don’t be jealous. As I said, I’d pick you. Though, I have to say… where did you even GET a Yuuri poster?

GP: Ahaha I paid a fortune to have one shipped from Japan. There’s a shop in Fukuoka that sells them. They have lots of posters of local athletes and upcoming talent and such. Do you want to see?

Moments later, a photo arrived – indeed, there, on the wall, was Yuuri. It was… surreal, to say the least. It wasn't a big poster or anything - it was a shot of him at a previous exhibition skate he'd been part of. On one hand, it felt wonderful to know his friend liked him even without knowing it, at the same time though, it also made him feel worse about his own complicated feelings towards GP… because he was still imagining him as Victor. He could almost see it, silver hair, splayed just outside that photo, a teasing smile… it wasn’t fair.

He needed to do better by his friend.


	21. Chapter 21

That resolution made, Yuuri had… no idea what to do about it, really. He was relatively confident that the other man might be willing to reveal something about himself if he asked – GP certainly brought it up often enough, but then Yuuri would need to reciprocate and he wasn’t exactly willing to reveal himself… yet.

He was enjoying what they had too much.

So, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Literally, on the few occasions he decided to peek at that photo GP had sent him – it was pure art, not that he’d admit that to anyone. He rather regretted that he didn’t have any posters of the other man – or even of that photo – because he’d have happily moved over some of his Victor pictures for that.

Alas, he wasn’t that lucky.

His phone buzzing tore him from his thoughts. It was a custom vibration as well now – GP had taught him to change not just the tone but the vibration pattern on his phone. They used the same brand, Yuuri just had a slightly older model.

He hadn’t told the older man that the pattern he’d picked was the pre-set called ‘heartbeat’.

Opening the message, he smiled to himself already.

GP: Soooooo if I wanted to give you a gift, would you accept it? 

Yuuri squinted at his phone. A gift?

Yuuri: Depends what it is, but sure?

GP: It’s nothing bad, I promise.

GP: You know how I won that regional competition last week? Well it came with a bit of prize money. I also know that your birthday is coming up, and, well, I thought…

Yuuri waited patiently for another message, but it took a few minutes for it to arrive.

GP: How would you like to see Victor Nikiforov?

Yuuri: I see him all the time. Literally right now, I am looking at no less than seven posters in my room 

GP: No I meant irl. I would love to give you tickets to this ice show he’s doing.

Yuuri: In Russia.

GP: Yes. I’d pay for your flights and hotel too. As a birthday gift.

Yuuri: I can’t accept that. 

GP: Of course you can. I want to do this. 

Yuuri: Will you be there?

Another break in messages, longer this time. When no reply came after nearly ten minutes – not that Yuuri was checking – he grew a bit worried. 

GP: Well, yes. We could meet. If you’d like. Or not. Up to you. 

Yuuri: So you’ll be there but you don’t want to meet me?

GP: NO! I do, I want to meet you! But if you’re not ready, I understand. I still want you to come and watch the show. I know how much you like Victor. 

‘I like you more’ he nearly texted back, then decided it was too forward. 

Yuuri: I still can’t let you pay for my flights and hotel. Do you know how much that would cost?

GP: 198.900 Yen. Give or take a bit in the exchange rate. 

Yuuri drew a sharp breath. That… was a very specific amount for someone who presumably, hopefully HADN’T spent that money yet. Fingers trembling, he texted his reply. 

Yuuri: That’s a specific amount.

GP: Yes, well, I figured if I asked if you would let me do this, you’d say no.

Yuuri: Ok? I mean you’re right. I can’t let you spend that much money. 

GP: Too late. Bought it all this morning. I knew you’d never just agree. 

Yuuri: !!!!!!!! What if I just don’t accept?

GP: Well then, my dear, you’d have wasted nearly 200k Yen AND my well-intended efforts for your birthday present.

He cursed under his breath – his Russian friend knew him FAR too well.

Yuuri: So. Let me get this right.

Yuuri: You are blackmailing me into accepting an outrageous birthday gift you already paid for just because you thought I want to see Victor Nikiforov. 

GP: Almost right. I’m not doing any blackmailing at all. You’re welcome to just let it pass and not accept. If anything, it’s your own conscious that’s blackmailing you.

Yuuri: I’m pretty sure that’s not how that works.

GP: Prove it and don’t come.

Yuuri: But you paid for it.

GP: That’s right but I don’t want to be accused of blackmail.

Yuuri: This isn’t FAIR!

GP: Nope it’s not. Details are attached to this text. Just click on the link below and you’ll find all the info you need.

Attached was, indeed, a link – it led to a Dropbox file with several bits of info in it – airline, flight times, hotel contact details and more. While he was still looking, another text chimed in.

GP: It’s all anonymous for now. I booked it without giving passenger details and said those would be provided later. You just have to quote the reference number and you’re good to go. You’ll have to make your own way to Tokyo, but I can’t help with that since I don’t know where you live. Airport transfer is handled by your hotel.

Yuuri: But this… I’m not worth this much money? You don’t even… I mean, what if I’m not ready to meet yet?

GP: I’m nervous too. If you’re not ready… I’ll wait. It’s fine either way. This is a present. I want you to go watch Victor skate and enjoy yourself. No strings.

GP: Oh, and just for the record: You’re worth everything.


	22. Chapter 22

Yuuri was typing his response when another message arrived. 

GP: Don’t even think of arguing with me. Trust me, you won’t win. I will spend all day arguing about how awesome you are. 

Yuuri: How do you know I was going to argue? 

GP:… 

Ok, fair. Sighing, Yuuri settled down again. He HATED the idea of his friend spending so much money – and it was a huge amount for Yuuri, who couldn’t even afford a proper coach – on a whim. Yes, he wanted to see Victor, and the idea of meeting GP was appealing but… but! Just thinking about the trip made his throat close up in fear. 

He’d never travelled overseas on his own, barely even left Hasetsu without at least Minako with him. And now… his friend had paid for everything already. Would he be offended if Yuuri didn’t accept? No, he couldn’t possibly just waste all of that money. 

Clutching his phone as a sudden wave of determination washed over him, he nearly missed the buzzing sensation of the phone in his fingers. 

GP: Would bribing you with dog pictures help? I just met the CUTEST Dalmatian on my walk. 

Yuuri: There’s no need to bribe me. I’m going. Assuming my parents allow it. Can I see the picture anyway? 

A moment later, several pictures appeared in the conversation. He smiled softly at them – the dog in question was, in fact, adorable – an adorable mess, half rolled in mud as he was. He was still doing better than GP’s dog, who was one soggy mess of mud, not even the ears visible. Had it not been for the tail, Yuuri wouldn’t have known which end of the dog was the front. 

Yuuri: 11/10 dog! 

Gulping, Yuuri stood – he had to talk to his parents. He wasn’t sure whether they would support him flying to Russia all of a sudden… especially on the invitation of a stranger who’s name he couldn’t tell them. 

Lying to them wasn’t an option – he wasn’t the type to do that, and even if he was, they’d see right through him. Hands shaking on his phone, Yuuri walked to the common area where, wouldn’t you know it, his entire family sat together, watching TV. Well, Mari was tapping on her phone lazily, but still. 

Heart racing, Yuuri dropped down on a cushion next to his sister. 

“Mom? Dad? I need to ask you something.” “Hm? What’s up son?” “How would you… how would you feel about me going to Russia to watch Victor Nikiforov skate?” 

Silence reigned at the table for a minute, then Mari snorted. “Can you afford to go, little brother? I thought all of your money went on Victor merch.”

Ignoring his sister, he focused on his parents, who – to his dismay – just exchanged a knowing look. “You want to see Victor skate?” His father clarified. Yuuri nodded, hands clutched together under the table, palms sweaty. 

“Oh Yuuri… funny that you should mention it but…” His mother broke off and reached over to a small wall shelf, pulling out a book. It was a collection of recipes. She opened it and pulled out an envelope. 

“We weren’t going to give you this for another few days, but since you brought it up…” He opened the envelope in confusion, only to realise what he was looking at a moment later. “These are… tickets? To an ice show?” 

His father chuckled. “Not quite. They’re tickets to the Russian nationals in December. It’s all paid for, you just have to go. We thought it would make a good birthday present.” Yuuri felt himself tear up, clutching the envelope a little more tightly – he knew that his parents had to have saved up for some time to get him this. 

“I… I… Thank you! Thank you so much! The truth is… a friend of mine also gave me a trip to Russia as a birthday gift? I wanted to ask if I was allowed to go. Can I… Could I go? This… I really appreciate it but I know how much this would have cost…” 

His parents exchanged another long look. 

“Yuuri… why not go on both trips? It’s all paid for, after all, and you’ve admired Victor for a long time. When is the other trip?” He checked the documents sent to him by GP. “Ah, it’s… it’s a week after my birthday.” His father nodded. 

“Very well then. This one isn’t until the end of December. You don’t have school then – why not go twice? Yuuri, you never really travel anywhere… Why not take the opportunity?”

“But! But this is too much!” To his shame, he felt tears stinging in the corners of his eyes. A hand settled on his back – Mari. “Look, little brother. We know what this means to you. We don’t mind. All of us chipped in for this. You never really ask for much… this is the least we can give you.” 

Too choked up to speak, Yuuri nodded, tears now slowly dripping down his cheeks. He was truly the most blessed person in the world to have not just a wonderful friend, but an even more amazing family. 

His phone buzzed. Yuuri stumbled from the table, phone and envelope clutched in his fingers. 

GP: Is… everything ok? I didn’t overstep any boundaries with my gift, did I? If you don’t like it, you genuinely don’t have to go – I promise, I won’t be offended. 

Yuuri: No! It’s not that! It’s.. I’m going. 

GP: !!! That’s wonderful. 

Yuuri: Twice. I’m going to Russia. Twice. 

GP: Huh? 

Yuuri: My parents, they gave me tickets as well. To the Russian nationals. I tried to give them back their tickets but they insisted I go. I… I’m going to see Victor skate. Twice. 

GP: Wow! That’s an amazing coincidence! The nationals are… in St. Petersburg? 

Yuuri: I don’t even know. I think so. I feel really woozy. 

GP: Okay, deep breaths, calm down. Sit down if you aren’t already. 

GP: You’ll be fine. You’ll come to Russia and watch Victor skate twice. It’s all fine. 

Following his friend’s advice, Yuuri just… breathed. 

Yuuri: I’m going to Russia. I’m going to see Victor live!!!! Have you ever seen him skate? 

GP: Mh, only in recordings, never with my own eyes. 

Yuuri: I can’t believe this. I’m so blessed to have both you and my family think so highly of me. 

GP: I can’t speak for your family, but I’ve told you… you’re worth everything. 

Heart skipping a beat, Yuuri made another decision, then and there.

Yuuri: I want to meet you. At the ice show. If you want to.

GP: Really? You know I’d love to, but only if you’re ready. If not… I can wait. 

No, no he wasn’t sure at all. He hadn’t even had time to think about all the ways this could go wrong – what if GP didn’t like him? What if… 

No. 

He shook his head. 

Yuuri: When… when we meet, is it okay if I hug you? I really want to. 

The next reply took a few seconds. 

GP: I would love nothing more.


	23. Chapter 23

And so, with what seemed like tragically little time left between his first – only his first! – trip to Russia, Yuuri buried himself in preparations for the trip. He’d asked GP a million questions about Russia, about what he needed to bring, what he needed to do, whether there was anything he needed to know…

For a man so tragically impatient, he’d born Yuuri’s incessant flood of questions extremely well. If anything, the older man seemed as eager and excited for Yuuri’s trip as he himself was.

The sheer magnitude of it all successfully kept his mind occupied all the way until it was time to leave for Moscow. The ice show was in Moscow, nationals in St. Petersburg – he was excited to see not one but two of Russia’s most famous cities in just a few short weeks.

He’d gotten a visa that extended past the second event, saving him quite a lot of hassle – the whole process had been smoother than he’d expected.

Clutching the handle of his trusty hard-shell carry-on suitcase, he stared at the announcement board at Narita airport. Suddenly, he wasn’t so sure anymore – was he doing the right thing? Was it a bad idea?

He hated how easily he second-guessed himself sometimes – thinking back to the last few texts he and GP had traded last night, he realised he’d done the same thing then too. GP had had to reassure him that his English was good enough, that all transport was arranged, that his hotel would be able to help him find his way around if he wanted to explore the city.

He toyed with the idea of texting the other man but dismissed it – there was too much going on in his head… not to mention it was still practically night-time in Russia. He wouldn’t want to disturb the older skater’s sleep – he was well aware that the other struggled to sleep as often as not anyway.

So, little suitcase in tow, Yuuri stood in the boarding queue, heart in his throat.

He didn’t notice the text on his phone until he reached to shut it off just before launch.

GP: Have a safe trip. I can’t wait to meet you! <3

Heart clenching in something other than anticipation, Yuuri wished he could text back – he couldn’t though, not with the stewardess already eyeing him in disapproval. Hastily switching the phone off, he tried to get comfortable in his window seat – he was in for a long flight.

Ten hours, to be exact – he’d brought a book to keep him busy, but between his anxiety and his excitement, he could barely read the kanji on the pages. Settling in for a nap was about as successful – he could hardly keep his eyes closed in a mix of excitement, fear and anticipation.

He, Yuuri Katsuki, was going to Russia… to meet GP, the man he was almost definitely in love with, despite not knowing his identity. Almost as an afterthought, he realised that he’d be watching Victor skate as well – he’d admired the man for so long, it was strange that seeing him in person wasn’t the first thing on his mind, not with GP occupying so much of it.

Smiling weakly at his ever-growing poster collection – eight when he’d left for his trip – he yawned. Victor Nikiforov… GP… Yuuri was going to love Russia.


	24. Chapter 24

Yuuri did not, in fact, love Russia. He didn’t hate it per se, but it was overwhelming. The airport in Moscow was gigantic, loud, busy. While he thankfully didn’t have much trouble finding his way to the arrival’s hall, the loud mess of people around him was… it wore him down.

After successfully spotting a well-dressed man holding a sign with his name on it, Yuuri followed him to a sleek town car with the hotel’s branding on it – it was intimidating in his own right. The driver was pleasant and polite, but Yuuri felt out of place.

It wasn’t until they’d pulled out of the airport that he realised he still hadn’t turned his phone back on and did so, almost expecting it to buzz off like crazy once any missed messages came in.

It did just that, of course – thirty-two missed messages. Softly smiling at his phone, Yuuri opened the conversation – his friend had to have been holding back to have only sent so few. Calming for the first time since the plane had landed, Yuuri read his messages.

GP: I hope you’ll be able to sleep on the plane. Or at least rest.

GP: I can’t wait for you to get here! I’m going to be at my hotel in a few hours :-)

GP: I’m not staying at the same one as you by the way. I didn’t want you to feel crowded.

GP: The one I’m in is less for international visitors anyway.

GP: I researched which hotel had good reviews from Japanese people!

GP: Oh, you must be in the air already.

GP: Shame that I didn’t wake up sooner to text you.

GP: I even had an alarm set but Makya managed to put her butt on my phone and I didn’t hear it.

GP: She’s very sorry though!

The next text was a photo – of an indeed quite sorry looking poodle, face smushed together by two pale hands. He idly wondered how GP had even taken that photo, then dismissed the thought – it was cute, that was what mattered.

GP: I know it’s a long flight, but it feels even longer!!!

GP: You know that if you change your mind you don’t have to meet me, right?

GP: I want to meet you, so, so badly, but… I can wait.

GP: This is your birthday present. I want you to enjoy it, no stress from me.

Yuuri chuckled to himself – no stress? He instantly became a walking bundle of nerves as soon as he even thought of meeting his Russian friend. They hadn’t talked about where or how to meet – Yuuri thought the other man was giving him space. It was… unexpectedly tactful of the other.

GP: If you want to meet me though, I have SO MANY ideas for what we can do.

GP: I know Moscow really well and there are so many places we could go!

GP: How about dinner for a first date? Did you bring a suit? Never mind, I’ll buy you one if not.

Snorting, Yuuri changed his mind on ‘tactful’.

GP: Is it even a date? Would it be a date? I want it to be, for the record.

GP: It’s a shame you can’t meet Makya. She’d like you.

GP: I mean she likes everyone but she’d definitely like YOU!

GP: She always barks when my phone buzzes. She recognises the sound it makes!

GP: She’s a good dog.

GP: Whennnnn are you going to beeee here?!?!?!

GP: It’s already been seven hours, why can’t your plane hurry up?

GP: It’s not fair.

GP: Have you thought about when you want to meet? Assuming you want to meet?

GP: We could go on a date. Or meet somewhere for coffee. Would that still be a date?

GP: I guess we could just meet up after the ice show.

GP: Or before? No, after will be a lot easier.

Yuuri idly wondered why they couldn’t watch the show together – he knew the other man was attending too, after all. Maybe he was there with someone else and didn’t want Yuuri to interrupt? A spike of jealousy seared through him, then he realised he was being ridiculous.

GoldenPuppy was trying to set up a date with him - IF he was watching the show with someone else it was probably a friend or rink mate or something. No reason to get jealous.

GP: Oh it’s almost time for your plane to land!

GP: Call me AS SOON as the plane lands.

GP: ?? Is everything okay? It says your plane landed almost an hour ago… I’m getting worried.

Hastily, as he took in the last message, Yuuri switched to contacts in order to call GP.


	25. Chapter 25

It barely rung twice before the other man picked up. Yuuri gulped, worried his friend would be angry.

“Hello? Are you okay? Is something wrong? You didn’t get lost, did you?” The other babbled – he sounded worried, not angry. That was… something at least.

“I-I’m fine. Sorry for worrying you. It was just all a bit overwhelming. I had my phone off and didn’t turn it back on straight away.” A sigh of apparent relief sounded between them.

“Oh, I’m glad. I was so worried something was wrong! Are you at your hotel yet?”

“No, not yet. I’m on the way though.”

“Did the transfer work okay? Did you find the driver?” Yuuri clutched his phone tighter, his anxiety slowly easing up on him. “Yeah, it was fine. Everything is fine. I’m… glad to be here.”

“Yeah, me too. Are you… did you read my texts?”

“Of course I did. I appreciate the research you did, and yes, I would still like to meet you. We can… we can go on a date if you’re sure you’re okay with someone like me.” He offered, heart pounding just a little.

A second of silence later, the Russian huffed. “I thought you were kidding, but you’re not are you? I would LOVE to go on a date with you. You know this.”

He did, didn’t he? Before he could reply though, the other man had already continued talking.

“I haven’t quite decided yet what we should do together, but we should definitely meet up after the ice show. I’ll take you… I’ll take you somewhere nice.”

“Yeah… that sounds great. I’m at the hotel I think.” Indeed, the driver had just pulled up to a rather imposing building with Cyrillic lettering on the front. It looked like the pictures he’d seen of it online.

“Alright then… I’ll leave you be so you can catch up on your sleep for today. Then tomorrow, the show starts at 11. How about… well, it lasts two hours but I’ll need a bit of time to get ready afterwards. How about we meet at 1.30 in front of the rink it’s at? I can… I can meet you there if you’d like.”

“Yeah, that sounds great. It’s a shame we can’t watch Victor together.” “Ah… yes, I suppose. I’m sorry but I can’t watch the show with you. I’m sure… I’m sure there’ll be other ice shows we can watch together?”

Yuuri smiled softly while he climbed out of the car. “No, it’s okay. I know you don’t like Victor’s skating as much as I do. I wouldn’t want you to force yourself to watch something you don’t like.”

The Russian hummed. “Well, you’re half-right. I’ve seen a lot of recordings of him skating and I don’t quite get the appeal. Now, Yuuri Katsuki on the other hand… we should definitely go and watch one of HIS shows together.”

Well, that would be a bit of a problem, wouldn’t it?

“Sure!” He agreed, dying a little on the inside. Was his friend going to be mad when he found out that he WAS Yuuri? Following the driver who had his suitcase inside, he dug out his passport and handed it to the receptionist – a gorgeous young Russian girl.

“Great! I look forward to tomorrow! It’ll be great.”

Yuuri sighed softly, blushing lightly.

“You’re right. I can’t believe I’ll be watching Victor skate.” “Hey! That’s not what I meant and you know it!” “Yeah… I’m looking forward to meeting you too. I need to go now. Have a good afternoon.”

“Yeah… you too. I’ll see you tomorrow – how exciting is that?”

Yuuri didn’t have an answer for the man as the call ended and he accepted the room key from the receptionist. He immediately felt guilty for keeping her waiting because he was on the phone, but she didn’t seem to mind. In heavily accented English, she explained that his room was on the eleventh floor, and which elevator he needed to take.

Grabbing his suitcase, he ambled towards said elevator – even THAT was impressive, decorated with brass and big enough to fit a small crowd… possibly a car.

Gulping, he pressed the button for the eleventh floor and rode up. There were only three rooms on the floor and he headed for his – 1102. The door opened easily enough and Yuuri pulled his suitcase in behind him.

Finally, he’d truly arrived.

The room was… calling it a room was a bit of an insult, really. It was a suite, a large, open-plan area with a massive bed on a raised platform in the middle. Three steps led up to a bed roughly the size of his room back home. The rest of the room… it was no less impressive, really. Long, sweeping curtains framed wide, tall windows and antique furniture decorated the walls.

The door to the bathroom stood open, letting him peek at the huge, free-standing marble bathtub in its middle.

He didn’t bother looking at the balcony – he knew the hotel had a view, but it was cold, and he was suddenly quite tired.

Despite how intimidating the room was, he set his suitcase by the bed, hung his jacket up and slipped off his shoes, then let himself drop face-first onto the bed. It was perfect – of course, the bloody bed was perfect.

Yuuri barely had time to contemplate how comfy it really was when his eyes fell shut of their own accord and he felt himself slip from consciousness.


	26. Chapter 26

Falling asleep and consequently waking up in an unfamiliar place was disorienting – even more so since his glasses had slipped from his face and he’d rolled away from them. After a bit of groping at the covers, he found them again and put them on.

The room was just as impressive in the light of what he assumed to be streetlights – he’d slept for quite a while. A glance at his watch revealed that it was just after ten at night. Normally he’d be going to sleep around that time, but as he was relatively well-rested, he instead decided to investigate some more of the room.

The bathroom, in particular, was too tempting to pass up – he found himself running a hot bath and carefully climbing into the marble tub mere minutes later. To his delight, the hotel provided not just shampoos but even bubble bath liquid – he poured perhaps a bit too much and soon he was up to his neck in bubbles.

It was heavenly. He decided to text his friend about it – he felt a bit bad for not talking to him more after arriving.

After gathering his courage, he grabbed his phone from beside the tub and set his feet on the edge of the tub. After nudging the bubbles around a bit, he finally ended up with what he wanted – the perfect view for a slightly suggestive picture. He was well enough hidden, but his legs peeked through the bubbles and it was clearly obvious that he was in a bathtub.

Before he could think better of it, he sent the shot to GP, no message attached.

It took him a little less than a second before he completely submerged himself under the water in shame – what had he DONE? He held his breath as long as he could, but eventually, he had to come back up and breathe… just in time for his phone to buzz.

Of course.

Cursing quietly, he fumbled to unlock it with his wet fingers – at least it was waterproof.

There were four texts, all from GP – of course.

Fingers shaking, he tapped the first one.

A string of ‘<3’s. Eight, to be exact.

The second text wasn’t much better – he counted 12 ‘<3’s.

That was…. Reassuring? Sort of? He scrolled lower to the next text. This one was actual words.

GP: WOW. That was… unexpected. I see you’re enjoying your bath? REALLY regretting choosing a different hotel right now, by the way. Out of curiosity, what would I have to do to be allowed to join the next one?

Yuuri blushed, hard, and quickly glanced at the last text.

GP: Oh no, that wasn’t too forward, was it? I’m happy to take you on a date, I don’t… expect anything.

What a deeply silly man.

Relieved, Yuuri texted back quickly.

Yuuri: You would have to beat Victor Nikiforov in a competition.

The reply came mere seconds later.

GP: Ouch. That is… literally impossible. :-( Can I have something easier?

Yuuri: *fake shock* Are you saying the idea of bathing with me isn’t enough of an incentive to beat Victor?

GP: You are making it REALLY difficult to be in public right now, just so you know.

GP: And no, it’s not that. It’s more that… I can’t beat him in competitions, I just can’t. Maybe you will though, someday. I’m sure of it. You’re amazingly talented.

Yuuri: ??? So are you. Anyway, are you not back in your hotel yet?

GP: Oh no, I was just on a walk. I often go before I go to bed, it helps me sleep. Are you about to go to bed too?

Yuuri: Mh, don’t know what I’ll do to pass the time until I get tired.

GP: I, uh, have ideas? Several? Which I’d be happy to explain to you in detail?

Blushing when he realised how his text must have sounded, he hastily declined GP’s call when it came a moment later. He wasn’t… wasn’t ready, for that.

Yuuri: Sorry, I just meant I’m not tired yet.

GP: Ok. Don’t worry.

GP: Should I leave you to it?

Yuuri: You should get some rest as well. Besides, I’ll see you tomorrow, won’t I?

GP: Yes… yes, you will.

GP: Finally <3


	27. Chapter 27

The next morning, Yuuri woke with his stomach already in knots. He was equally looking forward to the ice show and nervous or more accurately, terrified of meeting GP. GP, whose identity he didn’t know… but who was a fan of Yuuri Katsuki as a skater. Would he be disappointed to find out that the real Yuuri was more of an anxious mess than someone that should be on posters?

He hoped not, but… well, it was hard to convince himself, truly.

Naturally, that didn’t stop him from dressing his best and heading to the rink way too early. He was in good company – troves of fans of Victor’s had already assembled there much earlier than him. Ticket clutched to his chest, he waited to be let in, to get to his seat – 17 in the D block.

The whole process was faster than expected. The security check was thorough but quick, and all signs had a helpful English translation under the Russian original. In no time at all, he found himself on his seat – the edge of it, actually – and staring at the rink.

He had no idea HOW GP had gotten him a seat this good, but he would be forever grateful to the other man. Sat in the third row, he had a great view of the ice, while still being close enough to be able to just barely feel the chill of the ice before him.

He texted GP that his seat was perfect and received a ‘<3’ back – Yuuri interpreted it as the man being busy. Just as well, he had some internal fangirling to do. Sure, he was meeting GP, but first, he was seeing VICTOR NIKIFOROV live, in person, just a few feet away from him.

He’d get to see his skating, even if it wasn’t a competition and thus wouldn’t be at full competitive difficulty.

He couldn’t wait to watch and to learn from the older man… though his thoughts idly drifted to GP again, wondering if he could learn from him as well – he wanted to see GP skate as well… he wanted to see GP, period.

Not knowing had started out as a protective measure, a way for him to be more himself and less shy, but it had quickly become a source of even more anxiety for him. And now… now it was all about to be revealed.

A quick flash from the lights above startled him out of his thoughts – final preparations for the show were underway. Indeed, the other seats in the arena had filled quicker than he’d thought, and it seemed like most people were settled. The seats by his side were thankfully empty, giving him a bit of privacy, at least.

Another flicker of the lights followed by a triumphant fanfare sounding a few minutes later made his heart skip a beat – it was time for the show to start.

He knew it would be a while until Victor would come on, so he tried to focus on the content of the story, the characters in it, but he had a hard time with it. It was something about a famed playboy being about to visit a town, and all the women in the area preparing for his arrival, hoping he’d choose them.

He didn’t particularly care – the narrative seemed to fit Victor well enough, at least.

Then… then it happened. As if it was no big deal, Victor took to the ice. He was wearing an outfit that would have looked ridiculous on any other man. On Victor, it looked…

Yuuri blushed.

His fingers found their way to his phone automatically.

Yuuri: OMG, he’s so beautiful.

Yuuri: And I’m so CLOSE how did you get me tickets this good.

Yuuri: Oh he’s skating his solo.

Yuuri: His form is so great, no hesitation in his steps.

Yuuri: His skating fits the story perfectly as well.

Yuuri: I know you’re watching this from somewhere else and I’m really glad we can sort of share this.

Then, the unexpected happened. During a relatively slow spin, Victor looked over at his section, and for one long, electrifying moment, it seemed like the Russian made eye contact. He could feel those ice blue eyes meeting his own, boring, brown ones… and then the moment broke and he could breathe again.

Oh.

Wow.


	28. Chapter 28

The end of the ice show came quick – too quick, really. Yuuri had enjoyed it immensely, more than he’d thought he would, what with Victor only skating in sections of the two-hour total show. The other participants had done really well too – there had been a lot of talent in that show.

Yuuri counted his lucky stars that he’d managed to see it – Victor actually only rarely did ice shows, so he was beyond ecstatic that he had gotten to see it. It had been everything he’d hoped for and wanted – Victor was beautiful on the ice, and the moment he felt like their eyes met… he knew the other man couldn’t have recognised him at the distance and mid-spin, but Yuuri KNEW he’d felt their eyes meet for just a moment…

Heart racing, he stayed in his seat after a lot of the other guests had already left. He still had something else planned after all – meeting GP.

He wasn’t sure which was more emotionally stressful – thinking about that moment with Victor or meeting GP. He still had a few minutes before he needed to be at their designated meeting place, but he decided to head there early. They’d agreed to meet in front of the rink – helpfully enough, there was, in fact, a central front entrance.

He opted to stay inside though – the weather outside was… rough, to say the least. Hands sweating and stomach twisting in nervous coils, he took a few attempts to unlock his phone in order to text GP where he was waiting.  
When after a few seconds no response came, the pit in Yuuri’s gut grew heavier – had the other man changed his mind? He was normally SO quick to text back… NO, he decided, he was being stupid.

The buzz of his phone nearly made him drop it.

GP: I’ll be there in a minute! <3

Yuuri’s stomach twisted as his anxiety swept over him like a wave. He was… he was supposed to meet GP, to get to know him, to introduce himself and make a good first impression but he was a complete mess.

Hands sweaty, shaking even, and he KNEW he’d been stress-eating a little, so he was chubbier than a skater ought to be – the realisation was like a punch in the gut – there was no way he could let the other man – beautiful, trim and fit – let him see him like this, in this state.

He glanced around for a moment, helpfully spotting a sign for the men’s room just a few metres ahead. He was about to walk there to try and fix himself up a little, when he heard the sound of footsteps behind himself.

He didn’t need to turn, didn’t need to check – it was GP, he knew it. The man he’d desperately wanted to meet for weeks if not months was right behind him. All he had to do was turn, say hello, wave… ask for that hug. It was so easy…

Yuuri fled.

The door of the bathroom stall slamming shut behind him mere moments later was as satisfying as it felt isolating. In the huge, needlessly tall stalls, the sound of the metal door actually echoed a little, making his situation feel that little bit more bizarre. He had no time to acknowledge how pristine the stall was – he was too tightly wound.

What was he even doing?

The room seemed to grow bigger around him as he hunched down against the door, breath heaving and hands shaking.

Then the worst sound in the universe reached his ears – soft, partly echoing footsteps that came ever closer to where he was.

Tears stinging in his eyes, he tried to ignore it, tried to do what his therapist had said - focus on his breathing and heartbeat - to no avail.

A soft knock sounded on the door of the stall and Yuuri felt like his heart had stopped.


	29. Chapter 29

Heaving a few breaths, he just about managed to work up the courage to respond, when a soft, distorted voice he would have still recognised after so many phone calls called out to him.

“Is… is that you? Are you… okay?”

Clenching his hands into fists, he forced himself to at least stand up straight.

“Is that… are you GoldenPuppy?” Yuuri hated how shaky his voice was, how clearly it revealed that he WASN’T okay.

“That’s right. Hello Katsudamn. It’s… nice to meet you? What… what happened? Did you change your mind? Do you want me to leave you alone? I don’t really understand.”

Head spinning from too many questions, Yuuri sank down to the floor with a thud, thanking the stars that the stall he was in was so clean.

His mouth wouldn’t open much as he wanted to reply to the other man – what was WRONG with him?

An unexpected buzz from his phone nearly made him jump. He fumbled it out of his pocket, still barely in control of his shaking.

One new text from GoldenPuppy. Oh no.

He opened it – he could do that much at least.

GP: Hi there. I thought this could be easier if you… can’t you talk?

Tears running down his cheeks, he hit reply and blindly typed out his response.

Yuuri: I’m sorry. You should go. I’m a mess. You deserve better than this.

GP: Why don’t you let me decide that and instead tell me what happened? I barely caught sight of your jacket and then you were running away? Is it something I did?

He nearly laughed.

Yuuri: No, it’s me. I’m… weak. I have anxiety. I’m sorry!

GP: I don’t get it.

Shame flashed through him for a harsh second, then he forced his reluctant fingers to type again.

Yuuri: It means I… panic. And run away.

GP: Ok, so?

Yuuri: I’m broken.

GP: You’re wonderful.

Yuuri: I’m sitting in a bathroom stall at a Russian ice rink. I’m pathetic.

GP: Well I’m sitting outside a bathroom stall at a Russian ice rink. Do you think I’m pathetic?

“No!” He barked out, not even bothering to type it. His voice sounded more… more normal.

A soft chuckle was his only answer until another text pinged in on his phone.

GP: Then you aren’t either. End of story.

Yuuri: Why are you even still here?

GP: Because you are, duh.

Yuuri: This is a bathroom.

GP: I WAS going to take you to a nice dinner at a restaurant nearby…

GP: Still, this is where you are so this is where I am.

Yuuri: OhgodIruined your plans

Yuuri: Oh god, I ruined your plans* sorry

GP: Well my plan was to spend time with you. Technically I am.

As he was typing his response, the door to the bathroom itself opened and he froze – heavy set footsteps approached, then stopped. Whoever the new arrival was, he spoke in a low, heavy voice to GP, who answered in kind. It was… strange to hear him speak his native language, even in the odd echo chamber that was the bathroom.

He’d almost forgotten his friend spoke Russian – the sound was near familiar.

Whatever they said though, the second man left mere moments later, Yuuri sighing in relief.

GP: Are you going to be able to come out?

The trembling in his fingers intensified.

Yuuri: I… I probably could. But I look like a mess and I’m shaking and… and it’s not the impression I want to make.

GP: Ok so – give me a moment, I’d like to get my next comment right. I can’t even believe I’m about to say this.

Yuuri shifted a little, his anxiety welling up within him yet again – what was GoldenPuppy about to say? Surely he was about to tell Yuuri he wasn’t interested anymore? That had to be it. Wiping more tears from his cheeks, he… waited.


	30. Chapter 30

GP: This is definitely the weirdest sort of date I’ve ever gone on with a boy. But… that’s okay? You’re not weak for having anxiety, or even for hiding. I mean you came to Russia on your own just to watch Victor Nikiforov skate. That’s brave. You agreed to meet me, a stranger you met on a dating app. Brave. You took risks, left your comfort zone. Brave. You compete without a coach. I could go on but my fingers hurt from typing. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you one thing – stay in the stall. If that’s what you need, I’m okay with it. I’m going to sit right here with my back to this door until you want me to leave and we can meet face to face some other time.

Yuuri was… awed wasn’t quite the right word. Struggling to think of something to say, he let his phone slip from his fingers. What could he say? He managed to choke out a strangled “Thank you!” before his throat closed up again.

GP’s reaction was a single ‘<3’, followed by another text moments later.

GP: How did you like Victor’s skating? Was it as good as you hoped?

Yuuri: He was amazing. I was spell-bound. There was this moment… no, you’ll think I’m silly.

GP: No tell me.

Yuuri: Well… it almost felt like he was looking at me across the rink? It’s silly.

GP: Or maybe he just has good taste. I don’t think he’d have been able to make much out, mid-skate and all. Still, I’m sure you didn’t imagine it.

It felt nice to not be dismissed or shrugged off by the other – he KNEW how unlikely it was that Victor had seen him but… but…

Yuuri: How did you like the show?

GP: It was alright. A few of the side characters dropped their performance and Georgi was too dramatic, but otherwise, it was fine.

Yuuri: I meant, did you enjoy it?

GP: Oh… I guess? It was more fun than these things usually are. I mean, I knew there was someone special around.

Deciding to ignore the flirtation, for now, Yuuri got a bit more comfortable on the ground, knowing that GP was sitting on the other side of the door.

Yuuri: Who’s Georgi?

GP: Oh, one of Victor’s rink mates. He was the tall brunette with all the makeup.

Yuuri: I remember him. He’s good.

GP: You’re better.

Yuuri: You have a lot of faith in someone who you’ve never seen skate.

GP: Ok, well, would you say you’re better or worse than Yuuri Katsuki?

Yuuri: Uhm

GP: Do you think you could beat him in a competition, right now?

Yuuri: Well I mean I don’t have my skates.

GP: Haha. Very funny.

Yuuri: Ok, fine. I think I’m maybe… about the same? He’s not that great anyway.

GP: Ok see now you’re just wrong.

GP: Yuuri Katsuki is one of the most talented skaters I’ve ever seen. He’s also a teen and still has a way to go and you’re still already as good as him? That means you’re great.

GP: Besides I know you, you’re probably downplaying yourself anyway.

Yuuri: Why are you obsessed with Yuuri Katsuki?

GP: Why are you obsessed with Victor Nikiforov?

Yuuri: I’m not obsessed.

GP: So if Victor Nikiforov walked in here right now, you would…?

Yuuri: Scream hysterically and probably try to swim home across the ocean so I don’t have to wait for a plane.

GP: That’s… dramatic. And… specific.

Yuuri: You think I haven’t imagined that scenario? I mean, I’m a professional skater, or at least want to be. If I get better I will have to compete against him someday, maybe. And then… what if I run into him. I’ve been thinking about what to say for years.

GP: Wow!

GP: So what would you say? Would you hit on him?

Yuuri: WHAT? NO!!!!

Yuuri: I’d probably just run away but I’ve practiced how to say ‘I like your skating’ in Russian. He’d probably think it was dumb.

GP: I am about 120% sure he doesn’t and that he’d think it was amazing. Can I hear it?

Heart fluttering but not just from anxiety now, he stuttered his way through the phrase, then repeated it again with a more secure tone. It was soft enough that for once it didn’t reverberate in the bathroom stall – and the hum that sounded in response seemed pleased too.

GP: Perfect! This is now my new message tone for you.

Yuuri: What? No, you can’t that was awful.

GP: Then come out here and make me delete it?

For a moment, Yuuri’s hand shot to the handle above him and he was seconds away from doing just that, but then he caught a glimpse of himself on his phone screen… he was a mess. No, better not to risk it.

Yuuri: You’re not fair.

GP: That’s funny coming from someone who sent me that picture in the bathtub when I was in public.

Yuuri: I didn’t know you were in public.

GP: Fair enough. Can’t we call it even then?

Yuuri: I guess.

A few moments of silence passed, and Yuuri once again eyed the door handle warily – should he… get out? No, he decided – GP had told him it was fine. He didn’t need to force himself.

GP: So how am I doing so far?

Yuuri: Huh?

GP: Well this is our first date, duh? Have I made a fool of myself yet?

Yuuri: You consider this a date?

GP: Ouch?

Yuuri: I mean… it has to be the worst date ever, right?

GP: Not even close. Besides, it has you in it, so it’s automatically great.

Yuuri: You can admit you’re disappointed with me. I am.

GP: Clearly, I have better taste than you, because I’m not.

GP: Fight me on this.

Yuuri couldn’t help himself – laughter bubbled out of him, and a sort of content happiness put an end to most of the nasty, messy feelings that threatened to overwhelm him mere minutes ago. He wasn't sure for how long it lasted, but once it died down, he realised that he'd... needed that, and needed it a lot.

GP: You have a beautiful laugh. I can’t wait to hear it properly sometime.

Yuuri: It’s just the echo.

He didn’t miss the loud sigh from the other side of the door but chose to ignore it.

GP: Could I ask for a favour? I need to go back soon but… just one thing?

Yuuri: What is it?

He could hear the other skater clear his throat on the other side of the door and braced himself for the worst – what could he possibly ask for? Especially if it required such... preparation?


	31. Chapter 31

“Could you… if I just turn off the light, could you come out here and hug me? I understand if you don’t want to.” Mustering up his courage, he stood and faced the door. “Why do you want to turn off the light?” Yuuri was confused – he’d assumed the Russian would WANT to see him.

A soft chuckle answered him.

“To be honest, I’m a little glad that you… ran. I know it’s selfish but I was worried about what you’d say or do once you saw me. If I… didn’t fit your expectations. If you didn’t like me. This was… well, it was unexpectedly safe. Like this, I didn’t have to worry about it.”

Oh.

The other man had felt worried too, just like Yuuri – he hadn’t even properly thought about that.

Cursing himself a fool, he leaned softly against the door.

“There’s no way I’d be disappointed. I… get it though. Maybe we’re just not ready yet? For that?”

The other man drew a sharp breath before replying. “Yes… maybe that’s it. Maybe… maybe we need to do this in steps.”

“What step is sending suggestive photographs?” He blurted out before he could stop himself, only to slap a hand over his mouth a moment later – he REALLY had no filter sometimes. The Russian gave a low laugh, a sound that made Yuuri shiver just a little.

“Well, clearly it’s step 1, followed by telling me all about how you feel and what you want. Sound fair?”

“Not really. I mean, what do you get out of it?”

A thump alerted him to the fact that the other man had leaned against the door with some vigour.

“You, obviously.”

Yuuri made his decision quite quickly.

“If… If you could turn off the light, I’d be happy to hug you. I did promise you a hug, didn’t I?”

“Indeed. Then… after that, you should probably head to your hotel. I have places to be as well.”

The words stung a bit – the reminder that other things existed, they both had places to be… it wasn’t nice, but it was nevertheless true.

“Yes, I agree. So… you kill the light, I give you that hug, and then we… part ways?” He asked, mindful of his phrasing.

“Yes. Does that sound okay?”

Smiling while he unlocked the stall door with shaky fingers, he nodded to himself.

“It sounds… great, actually. Not the leaving, but everything else.” A rough, melodious laugh was the answer.

“Agreed. Then, let me get the switch.”

A few moments later, the lights in the main room did, indeed, switch off. Yuuri knew the main bathroom didn’t have any windows, and so carefully switched off the light in his stall as well, before reaching for the door handle.

“Are you ready?” He asked, more for his own benefit than GP’s, but nevertheless genuinely curious about the man’s answer.

“Yes.” The sound was low, quiet, but nevertheless shook Yuuri to the core. He slowly, carefully pressed down on the handle of the stall door and pushed it open, half expecting to see a room bathed in light… but no, nothing of the sort. He was met with pitch-black darkness, nothing other than the tiniest strip of light coming from the hallway door to give any light at all, and that wasn’t even enough to make out silhouettes.

Even in the darkness, he had no trouble at all finding the other man – heart beating in his throat, he followed his instincts and stepped forwards, hand stretched out. It collided with something soft – fabric.

A quiet gasp alerted him to the fact that he had, in fact, touched GP. Fingers trailing up – it seemed to be the safer option, all things considered – he felt the other’s clothes under his fingers. Soft fabric-covered solid muscle until his fingers brushed against a different kind of material – leather. He only just realised that he’d been running his fingers over GP’s thigh.

Too embarrassed to move for a second, he became acutely aware of the fact that the other man… wasn’t breathing? Just as he realised, the other took an audibly deep breath, and gentle, cool fingers brushed over his wrist.

Taking it as permission, he slipped his hand higher. The other man was wearing a jacket – a suit, possibly? – and Yuuri brushed it out of the way to be able to trail his hand up the other’s chest. The shirt he was wearing felt soft and expensive, though it was the defined muscle underneath that really made his head spin.

He knew the other was a skater, of course, but to feel his body… he shook off the thought and continued running his hand up until he brushed over the other’s collar bone. He quickly moved his hand to his shoulder, still expecting to be brushed off any second, but no such thing happened.

Now aware how much taller the older man was exactly, he placed his other hand on the man’s chest, only to freeze in shock.

He could feel the other man’s heartbeat, and for all that he was holding quite still, it was positively racing – it seemed to match Yuuri’s own. He pressed his hand down harder, drawing a quiet chuckle from the older man.

“You’re… nervous?” He whispered into the darkness of the room.

“No. Just excited.” The Russian whispered back.

Unable to stop himself, Yuuri placed his second hand on the man’s other shoulder and tugged him a little closer. The other man moved eagerly, bending a little to make it easier on Yuuri. As if on their own accord, his fingers met behind the other man’s neck, long hair feathering over them.  
He could hardly credit how soft it felt – the skater wore a ponytail.

Instead of giving in to the urge to play with it, he pulled him closer again, stopping only when he could feel soft breath on his cheek.

Oh.

A moment later, strong arms slowly wrapped around his middle and he found himself held tightly against the other man. GP buried his face into Yuuri’s neck and mumbled something incomprehensible, while Yuuri just held still, trying to think of something – anything – to do in response.

GP released him before he could, so he went with his gut reaction.

He surged forwards, taking a guess at where the Russian’s face would be in the darkness.

He missed, his nose collided with GP’s cheek and his lips bumped into his chin, but the other man turned his head readily enough, and after an awkward second, their mouths found each other.

It was brief, a quick press of their lips before Yuuri pulled back with a gasp, but it made his heart ache in a wonderful way.


	32. Chapter 32

A quiet “Wow!” interrupted the silence of the dark room a moment later, and Yuuri felt himself blushing furiously – what had he DONE? He hadn’t even asked if the other wanted to kiss him!

“I didn’t expect you to be so bold! Are all Japanese people like that or just you?”

Unable to answer the question, he just stuttered a bit of nonsense before falling quiet again.

Gentle fingers connected with his arms, travelling down until the other man reached his hands and pulled them to his chest.

Oh – maybe he hadn’t minded the kiss?

The fact that the other pressed a soft kiss to the back of first his right, then his left hand seemed to support that conclusion.

Yuuri was quite relieved – he hardly wanted his first kiss with GP to be something only he had enjoyed. Rather than pulling back, he kept his hands on the other man’s chest after they were released.

“You continue to surprise me, my dear.” The older all but purred, his accent a little rougher than before. Gulping, Yuuri tried to stay focused. That tone… did things to him.

“Are you mad?” “What could I possibly be mad about here?” A hand gently touched first his shoulder then his forehead, brushing over his hair gently. Clearly the other man was far less clumsy than him in the darkness.

“All of this… drama?” “What, being kissed in the dark by a beautiful boy? Oh yes, I’m positively outraged.” The man half-mocked, and Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“Well, you don’t know I’m beautiful. Also, this is a bathroom. It’s all a bit ridiculous, isn’t it?”

“I may not know your face but I do know that you, as a person, are beautiful. And is ridiculous so bad? Victor Nikiforov has skated in some pretty ridiculous costumes and you’ve never said a bad word about them!”

Yuuri scoffed.

“That’s because they WEREN’T ridiculous. Sure, the peacock feathers were, uh, a lot, but he always looked beautiful in everything he wore!” The hand from before returned to tuck a strand of hair behind his ear.

“Is that so? I really am a little jealous of Victor.” Yuuri threw himself forward immediately, wrapping his arms clumsily around the other, effectively pinning his arms to his side. “Don’t be! You have nothing to be jealous of! You’re much more important to me.” Squeezing as tightly as he could, he hoped that GP would believe him.

Rather than answering directly though, the other man just dropped his head onto Yuuri’s shoulder and sighed deeply.

When he eased up on his hold a little, the other man crossed his arms around Yuuri’s back and held him close as well.

“You have no idea how glad I am that you’re here. I wanted to meet you so much…” Yuuri could only half hear the whispers against his skin, but he still understood, and a wave of affection surged through him.

“Mh.” He agreed, too choked up for anything else.

He had no idea how long they held each other in the dark, but in the end, Yuuri pulled back first, even when the Russian resisted a little. “Didn’t you have somewhere to go?” He asked the other, a little bit upset that the mood was broken.

GP just groaned in response and leaned back against the sinks again.

“I do… I’m late actually, but you’re worth it. Would you like to leave first? I’ll wait here for a bit and then I’ll go as well.” “Nono! You have somewhere to go and I’m only heading back to my hotel. You should go first and I’ll wait.”

“Okay. It was… I’m so happy I met you, even if it wasn’t quite a candle-light dinner.” Yuuri giggled softly.

“Yes, me too. I’m sorry it wasn’t what you wanted but… I’m so glad that I came and that we could meet.”

A moment later, fingers – still cool to the touch – brushed his cheek, then GP pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I met you, that’s all that matters. I’ll text you later?” Yuuri mumbled his agreement even as GP walked to the door – Yuuri turned away once he heard the handle creak.

A few seconds later, the light flickered back on and the door fell shut behind the Russian. Eyes slowly adjusting to the sudden brightness, Yuuri blinked a few times before looking at himself in the mirror. He expected to see a mess. The reality was… well, he absolutely looked like a mess, but like an incredibly happy mess.

Fingers pressed to the cheek that GP had kissed, he stumbled out of the bathroom a minute later, just in time to see the main entrance door fall closed behind someone. He averted his gaze, but not before his eyes caught a flash of blond hair in a low ponytail.


	33. Chapter 33

Going back to his room at the hotel felt surreal. Yuuri felt like he was walking on air the entire time. The door to his room had barely closed behind him when his knees went weak and he collapsed to the floor.

It was hard to process it all. He’d seen Victor skate, he’d had a massive panic attack, GP had been there, had helped him calm down, had stayed with him in the dark… Yuuri had kissed him, and the older man had liked it.

Of everything that had happened, that was probably the most momentous thing to have happened. Fingers automatically grabbing his phone to text GP, he… wasn’t sure what to say. What did one say after what had happened? Staring at the empty message, Yuuri nearly jumped out of his skin when a brisk knock on the door sounded.

He scrambled up and opened the door, confused as to who it could be – in front of the door stood a very pretty young lady, holding two bags of what looked like… fast food? “Uh, hello?” He stammered as a greeting.

“Hi! This is room 1102, right? I’ve got your delivery right here!” The girl’s English was great, if heavily accented. Still confused, Yuuri accepted both bags. “Uh, thanks?” “It’s all paid for – tip included. Very generous of you! Have a great evening!” “Thanks…” He repeated before closing the door behind the girl and setting down the bags.

His phone buzzed before he could even open them.

GP.

Swallowing thickly, he opened the message.

GP: I got a notification that your food arrived? Did it go okay?

Yuuri: I got the delivery, but I don’t understand?

GP: Well since we couldn’t go out and eat, I thought I’d have something delivered. Whenever I’m upset, I order something really fatty and unhealthy, so I got you KFC. I wasn’t sure what you liked so I got some of everything.

Yuuri: I didn’t know there was KFC in Moscow?

GP: Oh yes there is. Not many but there are a few places. It’s a vice.

Yuuri: Thank you for getting me this? You didn’t have to. I could have ordered room service.

GP: This is better than room service. I’m sorry I couldn’t eat with you.

Yuuri gulped, unsure what to reply.

GP: Maybe next time?

Yuuri: Will there be a next time?

GP: Do you want there to be?

Yuuri: Do you?

GP: You’ve kissed me. Pretty sure that means I’m yours now.

Yuuri: I think that’s licking?

GP: ……Maybe next time?

Blushing furiously, he put the phone down and started spreading out the food on the table. GP hadn’t lied – there was just about everything. He dug straight for the popcorn chicken and ketchup, munching his way through the box in no time at all.

Next was a piece of chicken and a bag of fries – he found them more delicious than in Japan, actually. It wasn’t until he was nibbling on a cob of corn that he remembered he hadn’t actually replied to GP.

He hastily did so, fingers still sticky from the food.

Yuuri: It’s delicious, thank you. And… I’d like to meet you, for real next time. I’ll do my best not to… panic again.

GP: <3 <3 <3

Yuuri: Will you be in St. Petersburg in December?

GP: I live in St. Petersburg, so… unless there is a competition or something, yes.

Yuuri: Then… maybe we can meet? There?

GP: I’ll see what I can do. Are you looking forward to seeing Victor skate again?

Yuuri: I am. Next time will be a competition, so I’ll get to see a routine he came up with.

GP: Exciting, huh? And just a few short weeks to go.

Yuuri: Yeah… I’m not looking forward to the flights. 40 hours in total…

GP: I’m sorry <3

Yuuri: Don’t be. I want to do it. This… this was one of the best birthday gifts I’ve ever gotten.

GP: Hm, that’s right, you’re 19 now, aren’t you? I should have taken you out for drinks.

Yuuri: Oh I’m not old enough to drink.

GP: In Japan, maybe. Here, you would be.

Yuuri: I think I’ll stick to KFC as far as vices go.

GP: Fair enough. Is it good then?

Yuuri: Amazing. I shouldn’t even be eating this, I have to skate soon. This is going straight to my hips.

GP: One meal won’t matter.

Yuuri: I put on weight easily. I’m already pudgier than I should be.

GP: Excuse you, you were perfect when I hugged you today. Just the right amount of squishy.

Yuuri: I’m a figure skater. There shouldn’t be any ‘squishy’.

GP: You’re too hard on yourself.

Yuuri: YOU are too nice. What would you say if your Yuuri Katsuki gained weight?

GP: That he’d look amazing? He has thighs to DIE for, a little extra won’t change that. What if it was Victor?

Yuuri: No way would that happen but IF it did, I’m sure he’d still look beautiful.

GP: And me?

Yuuri: You’re in perfect shape. I envy you.

GP: Why envy me when you could just have me?

Yuuri: Huh?

GP: Nevermind, nevermind. You should probably go to sleep… your flight leaves early tomorrow, doesn’t it?

Yuuri: Unfortunately. I kind of don’t want to leave. I feel like I’m in the middle of some strange sort of dream, to be honest.

GP: I know what you mean. I’ve been feeling that way the entire time I was with you.

Yuuri: More of a nightmare then.

GP: WILL YOU STOP IT.

GP: Meeting you may not have been what we planned, but I’m happy it happened. I can’t wait to meet again, to kiss you again. Do NOT make me list the things I like about you and the reasons you should stop putting yourself down because I WILL make you miss your flight tomorrow, got it?

Yuuri smiled down at his phone, not at all put out by his friend’s aggressive rebuttal of his comment. GoldenPuppy was… impulsive, sometimes, but he made Yuuri feel like he was special, and he loved how it made him feel.

Yuuri: Sorry.

GP: Say it. You are awesome.

Yuuri: …

Yuuri: You are awesome.

GP: Very funny. Go to bed!

Still laughing while he packed up the rest of the food and headed for the bathtub again, Yuuri texted back a single ‘<3’ in response.


	34. Chapter 34

The trip back to Japan could only be described as hellish. The next morning, he woke up to a text saying that his flight was delayed by an hour – he let the hotel know and they adjusted his cab easily enough. With more time, he packed and repacked his suitcase a few times before finally heading to the airport… where he found out that there would be an additional two-hour delay.

Thankfully, there was a nice restaurant with power outlets where Yuuri could sit and play games on his phone until it was time.

Of course, it wasn’t that easy either – by the time he finally made it onto the plane, it was announced that due to technical difficulties, the plane had to go through quick maintenance – another forty-five-minute wait.

By the time Yuuri saw Moscow from above, he was supposed to be already half-way to his destination – in other words, he was exhausted and STILL had ten hours of travel ahead of him.

The only small mercy was that his row on the plane was empty save for him, meaning that he had more than the usual amount of space for himself and could get comfortable. It wasn’t much, and by the third hour, it was hardly any relief at all, but it could have been worse than it was.

By the time he reached the cab that would take him from the airport home, he was dead on his feet. His parents clearly realised, because they took his suitcase and sent him straight to bed. He collapsed into it face first and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

While waking up in an unfamiliar hotel had been quite disorienting the day before, waking up in his own room felt a lot more natural. Fishing his glasses from the bed – again, he really needed to take them off properly more often – he glanced around his familiar room – well, mostly familiar. His poster collection had increased again. Clearly, Mari had hung up more when he’d been away – he’d been at eight when he’d left, and having bought one more on his trip, he now counted a total of ten. Reminding himself to thank his family for indulging his silliness, he stretched and grabbed a change of clothes before heading down to the hot springs for a quick bath.

The familiar hot water relaxed him in a way that even sleeping in his own bed hadn’t been able to do, and he felt so much better when he got back to his room – well enough to remember that he had a phone and that he hadn’t looked at it in ages.

It was dead – the battery had died sometime during the wait at the airport, and he hadn’t had the mind to charge it. Doing so now, he sat anxiously next to it until it had the required 5% battery in order to boot up. Naturally, as soon as it was done doing so, messages started chiming in. He semi-patiently waited until his phone was done buzzing and eagerly opened the first one.

GP: I hope your flight is going well.

GP: Oh no, I just saw that your flight is delayed :-(

GP: I hope it’s not too bad a wait.

GP: Aw I guess you must have switched your phone off already <3

GP: So sweet of you to be so considerate!

GP: I’m looking forward to hearing from you when you’ve landed, I hope your trip goes well.

Then there was a break in messages – the man hadn’t sent more for several hours – he’d probably been asleep.

GP: Good morning, sunshine! You should be landing in a few and I’m looking forward to hearing from you again!

GP: It says you landed half an hour ago, is everything okay?

Guilt laced through Yuuri’s heart at the obvious concern in the message.

GP: Oooookay it’s been two hours and I’m freaking out a little bit. I’m guessing that you just haven’t turned your phone on or forgot to switch it off flight mode.

GP: Katsudamn? Are you okay?

GP: I’m worried.

Yuuri didn’t bother reading the rest of the messages, he immediately hit dial in order to call the other man. GP picked up on the second ring.

“Hello? Are you okay? I’ve been so worried!” “I’m sooo sorry! My phone died yesterday, and I didn’t really realise until this morning because I was so exhausted with the delays and everything… I’m really sorry!”

A relieved sigh was his only answer.

“Are you mad?” Yuuri asked, his voice small. “Well, a little? Not really, I’m just glad you’re okay. I figured it was probably something silly like that but I was also worried, you know?”

“I do, and I’m so sorry! How can I make it up to you?” A moment of silence passed between them before the Russian chuckled. “You don’t need to, really. I’m just glad that you’re okay. Buuuut if you’d really like to, I wouldn’t be opposed to a few photos of you?”

“But I’m nowhere near as hot as you!” Yuuri blurted out before he could stop himself, only to immediately curse himself for it.

“Wow! What a compliment! I have to disagree though – you definitely are. Besides, you don’t have to send photos if you don’t want to!”

Yuuri took a deep breath.

“No, I think I would like to. I’m just… not sure of what.” He wasn’t sure if he imagined the soft sigh on the other end of the call, but he rather thought not. “Well, I have ideas but… I’d rather you pick whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“Yeah, okay.”


	35. Chapter 35

GP caught up with, Yuuri got ready for his regular schedule – surprisingly, it didn’t feel natural anymore at all. Otherwise used to helping at the onsen, skating, eating and sleeping, Yuuri somehow expected… well, he’d expected something to change, now that he’d kissed GoldenPuppy, but nothing had – except for how badly he wanted to see the other man.

They messaged as much as if not more than before, and Yuuri did, in fact, work up the courage to take photos – or rather, he talked himself into it.

He sent the other man one of himself casually skating – knees down only, of course. He took, deleted and then retook one of his back in the changing room after a shower – he was mostly covered by his towel, but mostly was still not entirely. The last and perhaps raciest photo he’d taken had been of himself, in bed.

He hadn’t had the courage to make it explicit, though he doubted GP would mind, but he had taken off his shirt and slid his boxers a lot lower than where he normally wore them, just exposing he barest hint of skin below his hipbones.

The reactions had been… well, encouraging, to say the least. GP had reacted positively to all of them of course, but Yuuri found himself rereading the conversation he’d had with the other man about that photo whenever he felt… lonely.

Which, at night after saying goodbye to GP, was relatively frequently actually.

Pulling up the screenshots he had taken of the conversation again, he sighed – GP was busy with a competition, and he had nothing better to do than miss him anyway.

He’d cropped out the actual photo, unwilling to look at himself more than he needed to.

GP: Is that you?

GP: WOW

GP: I mean

GP: WOW

GP: Can I fly to Japan? Right now?

GP: Please?

GP: I liked the other photos, but can I make this my screensaver?

Yuuri: NO

GP; Please

Yuuri: No.

GP: Buuuut you don’t know what this does to me…

GP: Would you like to see?

Yuuri: Uhm

GP: You can say no.

Yuuri: I’d like to see you, just not…

Next came Yuuri’s favourite part – three pictures, all of them showing the other man in varying stages of undress, with the last one showing him bent over taking his trousers off in what HAD to be an inconvenient position but certainly made his assets look spectacular.

Yuuri: <3

GP: Let me know if you change your mind and want to see more.

Yuuri: I’d rather touch than see.

He cringed a little every time he saw that text, embarrassed he’d been so… honest.

GP: Ohhhhh if you were here, you could touch me, any way you’d like.

GP: I’d let you, any time.

GP: Oh god, I want it.

GP: You know when you were teasing me in the bathroom, I just wanted to rip your clothes off.

GP: Is that… too much?

Yuuri: You’re never too much.

Yuuri: Teasing?

GP: The way you ran your hands over my body.

GP: It was wonderful.

Yuuri: I wasn’t teasing… I just couldn’t see?

GP: It didn’t feel like that.

Ok, so he’d enjoyed touching the other man – who could blame him?

GP: Next time you should do it again. Longer.

Yuuri: Next time… I’d like that.

GP: I can’t wait. I loved meeting you.

Yuuri: Me too.

GP: The bathroom… it being so dark was so much better than expected.

GP: You felt my heart beat didn’t you?

Yuuri: Yes <3

GP: Just because of you.

GP: I wanted you so badly.

GP: This isn’t helping by the way.

GP: I know… I know we haven’t discussed this much, but would you want to? If we meet again?

Yuuri: Would I want… you? Yeah

Yuuri: I’m not the most experienced though.

GP: Truth be told, neither am I but I feel like we can figure things out together?

GP: We’ll just have to… practice.

Yuuri: Practice?

GP: Mhm…

GP: Would you let me practice on you?

GP: Or you on me, I don’t mind which we do first.

Yuuri: !!!

GP: It’s okay if you’re not ready.

Yuuri: It’s not that. I just… there’s a lot of things I’d want to do.

GP: I think you should.

GP Do them. Things. To me. Yes, all of them.

Yuuri: Are you sure? You don’t even know what they are.

GP: Did I stutter?

Giggling as always when he reached that point in the conversation, Yuuri scrolled back up to the pictures the other man had sent. He was beautiful – at least the parts Yuuri had seen were, and those made up a considerable part of the other already.

All he was missing was his face… and a more detailed look at one or two other things. Neither of them had crossed that last fabric barrier with their photos yet, and truth be told, Yuuri didn’t want to. Nudes weren’t something he was interested in – not when little suggestive snapshots made him blush as much as they did.

Sighing he put the phone down to have both hands free – not like he needed more inspiration anyway. He had plenty of stuff to think about when it came to GP.


	36. Chapter 36

Yuuri only had about two weeks and a few days before it was time to fly back to Russia for his second visit. It was the first time he would be gone from home over Christmas, and also the first time he’d spend said holiday - or any holiday – alone rather than with friends or family. Truthfully, he wasn’t looking forward to that part of it, but the hope of meeting GP and possibly spending the day with HIM – well, it certainly made the thought bearable.

The other thing that helped was seeing Victor skate and in competition this time. Yuuri had his own competition in between his visits to Russia – only a small, local event though. He was surprised it was even televised when he got to the rink, accompanied by Minako as always.

He hadn’t expected to do that well but found himself encouraged by GP’s exuberant praise of his skating – not that he’d seen him. Yuuri took silver, much to the joy of both him and his parents. With that success behind him, he felt like… well, like he deserved something good as a reward. Something good… like seeing GP without freaking out. That was what made it all the more crushing when he received a text from said man two days before he left for St. Petersburg.

GP: Hey there… I’m sorry but I have some bad news. I’m afraid I won’t be in St. Petersburg when you are. I ended up qualifying for an event out of the city and I won’t be back in time. I’m really sorry. I will, however, text you 110% of the time and give you tips on where to sightsee!!! I’m sorry.

Yuuri had fought tears at the text – he’d known it was a possibility that their schedules wouldn’t match but… well, it hurt, nevertheless. He wasn’t mad or anything, but he was disappointed.

The fact that GP assured him that he would accompany him on his trip by text made it… better. He wouldn’t be with the man himself, but he would get the next best thing. That, at least, was what he told himself when he got on the plane for the third time in as many weeks.

The journey was no less exhausting this time, though Yuuri found that he much preferred the airport of St. Petersburg to that of Moscow.

As a matter of fact, his first impression of the city was a better one as well. Yuuri arrived just as the sun was setting over the canals of the city. It was a spectacular sight, all in all. This time around, his hotel was a lot less glamorous – his parents had booked him a small room in a cosy location a bit from the centre of the city. It was charming and the bed was as soft as any Yuuri had slept in. He’d already reported to his parents and GP, and given the time of his arrival, he decided to head straight to bed. GP had promised him a ‘full guided tour through the city’ if he woke early enough, and he had every intention of doing so.

Exhausted as he was, he fell asleep feeling torn – he was excited to see Victor skate in a few days, disappointed he couldn’t meet GP and also looking forward to his tour of the city – it was all a maelstrom of warring emotions for him. The one that won, in the end, was excitement – he was about to go explore GP’s home city, and as far as he was concerned, getting to see the man’s favourite places was a pretty okay alternative.


	37. Chapter 37

Waking up minutes before his alarm would normally upset Yuuri, but not when it came with seeing a text already waiting, wishing him a good morning. It WAS a good morning – despite the late time of year, the weather was surprisingly gentle, and the icy cold was easily fended off by Yuuri’s fluffy blue coat. The fact that he got to watch the sunrise on Troitsky bridge – as per GP’s recommendation – had much to do with how he felt.

Yuuri: This would be better with you here.

GP: <3 I wish I could be, I really do. Maybe… some other time?

Yuuri: I’d like that.

Yuuri: Where am I going to next?

GP: Well… I have two suggestions. Either, I could guide you through the best tourist spots… or I could show you my favourite spots in the city. It won’t be as scenic but… it’s up to you.

It wasn’t really a question that needed answering, as far as Yuuri was concerned.

Yuuri: Show me where you walk your Makya.

The reply took a few minutes, time Yuuri spent admiring the view in front of him. The Russian men’s nationals weren’t until the day after, so he had time – time he wanted to spend learning about GP. No way would he turn down the chance to do so for tourist attractions he could just look up on his phone instead!

GP: Okay. I can send you directions to it on Maps?

He received the instructions almost immediately and was swiftly on his way – it was a good ten-minute walk if he hurried, and despite his eagerness to get there, he had no intention to do so. Dodging the odd passer-by that was out and about as early as he was on a Sunday, he split his time between texting and taking in the area.

The place the map led him to didn’t immediately look like a park – it was gated with tall concrete and steel fencing. GP directed him to a small gate, one he would have missed if he hadn’t been looking for it.

The park itself – about a block wide and half as long, was lovely. Even in the crisp winter air, the sparkle of the snow was breath-taking. It made Yuuri long for Vicchan – as much as Hasetsu didn’t often get snow, the little poodle loved playing in it.

Smiling, he pulled his phone out again, in order to mention it to GP – the man LOVED hearing about his poodle, no matter what it was. Message complete, he put the phone in his pocket and took a step into the snow covering the sparse grass. His shoes left clear prints in the otherwise pristine snow, as he walked closer to a nearby tree. He was sure it would look spectacular in spring or even autumn when leaves would still grace its branches.

GP: Do you miss your Vicchan?

Yuuri: Yeah. I just saw him but whenever I see a place he would like I miss him.

GP: That’s sweet. I’m the same except with food. Makya is a gourmet and I always feel bad if I can’t bring her goodies, you know?

Yuuri: I know what you mean. It’s so lovely here… I can’t believe you come here every day.

GP: Not every day, just whenever I can. It’s… pretty great.

Yuuri: It is. Where am I going next?

GP: Ah, actually, can you hold on just a minute? Spend some time in the park, walk around or something. I need to go for just a few minutes. I’m really sorry.

Yuuri typed out his reply – ‘Of course, no problem!’ but, before he could send it, he realised that he wasn’t alone anymore. Happy barking sounded behind him, achingly familiar. Not that it sounded much like Vicchan at all, really. This was a bigger dog. Unwilling to be reminded of Vicchan even more, Yuuri continued staring at the tree… for a moment, anyway.

Then he found himself face first in a pile of snow. The sudden shock of it, the cold and vertigo from his fall distracted him from perhaps the most obvious aspect of his sudden predicament – the fact that he was being… held down?

Something or someone was pressing down on his back. After a moment of floundering, he got his arms under himself and pushed up, gasping for air as he shook off some of the powdery snow. His glasses were still in the snow somewhere and as such he had trouble making out what was happening for a moment – then, the brown mass in front of him became clearer and Yuuri found himself sitting on the ground… with a huge poodle on his lap.

He petted it out of instinct, still not fully clear on what exactly happened when a gasp revealed that the dog’s owner had caught up with the poodle.

Yuuri couldn’t make out much about the person beyond that it was a man, and going by his colouring, an older one. He was babbling something in Russian – Yuuri didn’t understand and tried to say as much, not that the other was really listening.  
After a few moments, silence fell, and he could finally respond.

“I’m sorry, I don’t speak Russian!” He exclaimed as he started looking around for his glasses, poodle still perched half on him.

“Oh, oh yes of course! I’m so sorry! I didn’t see that she’d jumped you and I was halfway across the park – are you alright?” The other man had a pleasant voice, Russian accent almost inaudible. He clearly spoke English well.

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s okay really, I have a dog too… a poodle, actually, but a toy-sized one.” “Oh… is that so? But you’re not hurt? I can’t believe she would just jump you! She must really like you, I guess… are you looking for something?”

“Oh, just my gla-” He broke off mid-word when his fingers bumped into the familiar plastic frame of his glasses in the snow. He pulled them from the snow and when a tissue was thrust into his field of vision, he accepted it quickly.

“Thank you.” “It’s fine, it’s my fault after all. I thought only locals came here to walk their dogs.” Yuuri wiped his glasses as fast as he could. “Ah, a friend directed me here. I’m visiting St. Petersburg for a few days.”

“Oh? For anything in particular?” “Ah, I’m a figure skater. I’m here to watch the Russian Nationals.” After a moment of silence, the other man whistled. “Anyone, in particular, you’re rooting for?”

His glasses finally clean, Yuuri put them on and adjusted them on his face, finally looking up at the man he was talking to properly.

“Ah, I’m a fan of Victor Nikiforov.”

“Is that so?” The other man’s tone was decidedly amused, and Yuuri had absolutely no trouble figuring out why.

He was looking up at Victor Nikiforov.


	38. Chapter 38

Yuuri: OMG

Yuuri: You won’t BELIEVE THIS

Yuuri: I ran into VICTOR NIKIFOROV!!!

Yuuri: Sorry for not texting but I fell into the snow and he bought me some tea. I can’t believe this is happening.

Yuuri: I’m making a fool of myself as well.

GP: I’m sure that’s not true.

Yuuri: No, it definitely is. I told him I was his fan, that I have posters of him, stuff like that.

GP: And why do you think he’d mind that?

Yuuri: Because he probably doesn’t want to spend time with an awkward fan?

GP: Then why did he buy you tea?

Yuuri: To be nice. His dog knocked me in the snow.

GP: Oh really? Wow, so you two had a ‘moment’ huh?

Yuuri: What? No! There were no moments.

Yuuri: Besides, I’m not interested in him that way.

GP: Aren’t you?

Yuuri: No? I mean, I… like you? Victor is great and I admire him, but I don’t see him that way.

Yuuri didn’t add the ‘anymore’ he’d been thinking of at the end of the text – he was already revealing more than he’d really planned to by admitting how much he cared for GP. It was all too much, too many things happening at once, for him to process everything.

GP: I think you’re wrong. I’m sure he doesn’t mind.

Yuuri: What about you? You were going to show me more places?

GP: Mh, but I can’t pull you away from Victor. Enjoy your little tea date. <3

Yuuri: It’s not a date. And you absolutely can pull me away. I want you to show me ‘your’ St. Petersburg after all.

GP: You know, you really don’t give yourself enough credit?

Yuuri: Huh? For?

GP: Being a wonderful person.

Unsure how to respond, Yuuri typed a few responses and deleted them, before finally settling on ‘You’re exaggerating’. Before he could send it though, Victor was back and sat down at their shared table again.

“Sorry about the wait, Yuuri!” He shook his head to indicate he didn’t mind – and he didn’t. “Were you texting your friend just now? The one who stood you up?” Yuuri’s head snapped up at the unexpected words.

“He didn’t stand me up! He just… had things to do. And, yes.” A little guilty, he put his phone away, but not before pressing send on the last message. “Don’t stop on my account…” Victor gestured towards his phone. “Oh, n-no, it’s okay. He’s busy anyway.”

The Russian nodded and sipped his own beverage – it looked like coffee.

“And is he your boyfriend?”

Yuuri nearly choked on his tea.

“I-well, I don’t know? We’ve never really talked about it.” Blushing furiously, he stared down into his teacup.

“I see. Well, if he isn’t smart enough to show up and take you on a date, how about I do it?” Yuuri forced himself to swallow another sip of his tea, tasteless as though it suddenly was.

“How about you do what?” He forced out, hoping he’d misunderstood.

“How about I ask you out on a date?” “You have a competition tomorrow?” It came out as more of a question than he’d intended.

“Well, that’s tomorrow. This is now. Besides, I’ll probably win it anyway.” It stung a little how matter of fact the other said it, even though it was true – there was nobody else at his level.

“You should still practice.” “I guess I should, but what am I to do if I run into a cute fan who’s been stood up by his maybe-boyfriend?”

“I’ve NOT been stood up.” “If you say so. Would you like to have lunch together?” Groaning in frustration at being swept up in Victor’s pace, he followed the Russian when he got up a few seconds later, half-full cups apparently forgotten.

It was too early for lunch – not that the other seemed to care.

Makkachin bounding around them, they walked further along the road they’d come on. Victor was silent, looking something up on his phone – not that Yuuri was spying, or anything. He did, however, get close enough at one point to find out how Victor’s hair smelt – divine, like strawberries – only to feel immensely guilty immediately after.

Completely lost on what was even happening, he trotted after Victor – what else was he supposed to do, really?

Walking around St. Petersburg with his idol was surreal. Following his idol into what looked like an unassuming restaurant from the outside was surreal. Finding out that it was anything but unassuming was surreal – the place looked like it fell straight out of a romantic movie about Paris.

The waiters wore suits for god’s sake – how were Yuuri and his fluffy jacket over sweatpants and a t-shirt supposed to fit in?

Except that nobody batted an eye at his attire – someone took his coat and they were led to a table by the window.

“Do they… allow dogs?” He asked, Makkachin already settled between their legs. “Of course! I don’t eat anywhere that doesn’t allow dogs, to be honest.” Yuuri nodded in understanding, fretting a little when a Russian menu was presented to him.

“I’ll use Google Translate for this.” He decided and pulled out his phone. Victor smiled weakly. “Probably won’t work. Reception in here is pretty spotty. You do however have your own translator right here!” Without any hesitation, Victor slipped across to Yuuri’s side of the table and flipped open the menu.

A hand gently settled on his lower back, tentative at first, then firmer when it wasn’t rejected. Yuuri gulped – how could he shake the other man off, really? He did his best to focus on what Victor was explaining and translating, but with mixed success. Victor was too close, and Yuuri too much of a fanboy to really pay attention.

The menu wasn’t very long, so it wasn’t long until Victor finished his explanation and turned his face to Yuuri again.

“Did any of that sound good?” “All of it did.” He shot back, not talking about the food at all – he just liked hearing Victor speak Russian. He hoped the other hadn’t taken it that way, but the faintest hint of a pink flush on his cheeks suggested he may well have. Oh-oh.

“Would you, uh, like me to pick something for you?” Clearing his throat, he nodded. “Please. Something, uh, something vegetarian?” “Sure, no problem.”

As if on cue, the waiter returned, and Victor slipped back to his own seat. He ordered for them both in Russian, while Yuuri waited and silently cursed his social incompetence. He desperately wanted to talk to GP, but he also didn’t want to be rude, nor to disturb the other, busy, man.

“Is something wrong, Yuuri?” “N-No. Just… this is all a bit odd, isn’t it? I mean, we just met and now we’re having lunch?” Victor gave him a curious look before smiling. It was a beautiful expression – soft and affectionate.

“Yes, well, I feel like I’ve known you for a lot longer than a few hours. Plus, you like poodles, so clearly you’re a good person!” Yuuri had… very little to say to that.

When Victor bent under the table in order to pet Makkachin, Yuuri quickly pulled out his phone and texted an update to GP.

Yuuri: I’m having an early lunch with Victor Nikiforov? I don’t even know what’s happening anymore. He’s so… nice!

He quickly put the phone away again in time for Victor to straighten in his seat. Their food came quickly, and Yuuri was mildly surprised by how good it was – the vegetable terrine was delicious, the atmosphere… well, Yuuri wasn’t as nervous as he thought he might be.

Victor was… not what he expected. He was nice, of course, but he was also… real. Approachable in a way he hadn’t expected, and he seemed to genuinely like Yuuri, and wasn’t that a rush?

Suddenly fighting the weird urge to grin like a complete loon, he excused himself in order to head to the bathroom. The oddly elaborate entrance to the men’s rooms was right next to the coat racks by the entrance – even the sight of his cheap blue jacket and Victor’s expensive coat side by side felt like a rush.

Hand already on the door handle to the bathroom, a noise made him freeze in his tracks. Though he’d not exactly heard it before, he KNEW what it was.

A voice recording – of someone, in stuttering Russian, saying ‘I like your skating’. Yuuri knew that recording. It was the words GP had recorded at their last meeting. He knew the older man had left his phone in his coat pocket. In other words, he’d just heard the man’s text alert. And if Victor had that alert, there could only be one explanation.

GP had given it to him. GP KNEW Victor Nikiforov and had told him about Katsudamn, his stupid, overexcited fan, and probably his poster collection. Well, not that Yuuri hadn’t also done that on his own, but still. If Victor had this… then that meant that GP and the other skater had been making fun of him, possibly for months. He’d told the other Russian so much – the man had even been so specific about not being able to beat Victor. Of course, he’d know that for sure… if he actually knew Victor.

Yuuri spun around and looked across the almost entirely empty restaurant, meeting Victor’s eyes. He was sure the betrayal showed on his face and he didn’t care.

The other man looked surprised, then confused, then something like realisation set in.

Oh.

That proved it – Victor knew that Yuuri knew.

He spun on his heel and fled.


	39. Chapter 39

Normally, his first instinct would have been to text GP about what was happening. As it was, that wasn’t an option. He’d immediately shut his phone off after leaving the restaurant, and gone back to his hotel, all thoughts of exploring forgotten and abandoned in favour of looking for a safe space to just… hide.

Crawling into bed and hiding under the covers, nevermind the fact that it was too warm didn’t help. His mind was in too much turmoil.

GP… Yuuri didn’t even know his face or name, yet he’d been IN LOVE with the man. To find out that he’d been lied to, made fun of… it hurt in a way that nothing really had.

He desperately wanted to call his parents or his sister and tell them… tell them something, but he was scared of turning on his phone. What if there were texts from GP? What if… what if there weren’t?

Yuuri decided to stay in bed. He ordered room service eventually and paid for it in cash – he didn’t want to cost his parents any more money. The food tasted bland and stale, and despite his usual tendency to stress eat, he could hardly force himself to keep it down this time.

Having wisely packed his laptop, he ended up watching sad dramas for the rest of the day – not exactly his best use of his time in a different country, but what choice did he have? Any attempt to do nothing, even for a few minutes sent his mind spiralling further.

He’d already worked out most of it – GP and Victor knew each other, and they’d made fun of him behind his back. He probably hadn’t met Victor by coincidence – St. Petersburg was too big for that. He wasn’t sure what the two of them had planned exactly, but it didn’t really matter – nothing they could have done or come up with could possibly rival the heartbreak Yuuri felt.

Night came mercifully quickly, and he slept fitfully – not that he expected much else.

The next morning though… Well, Yuuri had a choice to make. He had to decide whether or not to go and watch Russian nationals. He didn’t WANT to – any desire to see Victor skate had died the day before – but… but his parents had bought the ticket, and he didn’t want to disappoint them. He’d told the truth when he’d said he didn’t want to waste their money.

So, fighting every fibre of his being that told him not to, he forced himself to get dressed and head to the rink.

The atmosphere there weighed heavy on him – a kind of excited tension, something he too would have felt, had it not been for the day before. Safely in his seat – relatively far back, indeed in the E-block, he waited for things to begin.

Despite it being a national event, there was international broadcasting present. Yuuri plugged his headphones into his phone – carefully set to flight mode and only with the rink’s wifi connected to avoid getting messages - and found an English live stream of the event so that he would be able to understand what was said. It worked surprisingly well – the live stream commentator was doing a great job announcing what was happening.

The first batch of skaters was warming up – Yuuri knew that the top skaters including Victor would be up last, so he felt safe watching them. They were talented skaters, the lot of them, and Yuuri genuinely enjoyed their performances. One of the younger skaters even performed the Lilac Fairy – it brought some bittersweet memories with it. Yuuri had skated to it, Victor had skated to it… GP had skated to it.

His enjoyment turning sour, Yuuri focused on the other skaters. They were good – talented young men, all about a year or two above Yuuri himself. He hadn’t yet qualified for Japanese nationals yet… but he was hopeful, still.

Yuuri watched the rest of the competition… until the last six skaters were announced, and it was time for them to take to the ice. Yuuri knew that Victor was among them, and unable to face the thought of seeing the man in person again, he stood and blindly fled. He was well aware that he stepped on a few feet on the way, and that his mumbled apologies hardly made up for it, but he didn’t care. He needed to be somewhere else.

Back in his hotel room, he ended up watching a YouTube recording of the event – in the original Russian. He didn’t want to hear the praise, the commentators talking about how skilled Victor was. The man skated just as well as he always did – maybe even better. He broke his own record for the short, actually – not that the ISU counted national scores, of course.

Yuuri shut his phone off after the performance, too emotionally wound to watch more of it.

Sadly, the next day he didn’t feel any better. He once again attended the Free skate, of course, and once again enjoyed watching the other skaters, but it was a hollow sort of enjoyment, and not the kind of exciting event he’d been looking forward to. Victor was last to skate, and once again Yuuri left just before his turn.

He didn’t bother watching him skate even back at the hotel – the outcome was obvious. The man won with a landslide victory that surprised absolutely nobody. Despite his desire to not waste his parents’ gift, Yuuri didn’t go back to watch the exhibition skates the next day at all. For the first time in a very long time, he wanted nothing at all to do with skating.

Moping was about all he felt like doing. With another day to go before he had to go back to Japan, Yuuri found himself sitting in the hotel room bored out of his mind anyway. It was out of this boredom that he made a mistake – he deactivated the flight mode setting on his phone.

Within seconds of him pressing the button, and before he could re-activate it, the device froze completely.

He had to reboot it to be able to get it to react at all, and even when it did, it was sluggish and slow. Given that he wasn’t the most technically skilled person on the planet, it took him a few minutes to work out why. He had text messages.

A lot of them.

His phone, apparently, capped out at a thousand, as far as the notification went, as it only displayed ‘1000+ new messages’ at the top. He hadn’t even known that was a thing. Fingers shaking and gut-clenching, he tapped the notification. The messages were from several different numbers.

In the conversation overview, he could see the true number of messages. 784 from GP. 103 from a Russian number he didn’t recognise. 72 from yet another Russian number he didn’t know. 4 from his family. Another 129 from a Russian number. 2 texts from his network provider.

Yuuri had 1094 text messages, and all except 6 were from GP – had to be.

He felt sick as he read first the network and then his family’s texts. All as expected – info on the rates he had to pay in Russia, and his family wishing him a good time. That left him with four chats and over a thousand messages to look at… or not.

Yuuri wanted to delete them all, he really did. He didn’t want to get hurt again, and he didn’t want to be made fun of anymore.

There was, however, a small part of him that wondered… if it really had been a joke, would the two Russians have gone through that much trouble? A thousand text messages wasn’t exactly a quick ten-minute effort. Was there… maybe another explanation?

Finger hovering over the chat with the oldest messages – GP – he hesitated. Did he really want to look? Wasn’t it better to just… put it behind himself?

He could always try and meet Victor again later, on even ground, and ask for an explanation – as a fellow competitor, maybe, someday. Maybe…

His phone buzzed and Yuuri dropped it with a squawk. The device clattered on the ground and slid far enough away that he had to get up to get it back.

A new text.

Another unknown Russian number.

The message preview showed enough of the text that Yuuri mindlessly opened it to look at the rest.

‘Will you meet me tonight at the park? Please. I know I don’t deserve it, but PLEASE. I’ll do anything. Just… meet with me, even just for a minute. Please. I’ll be there at 5 pm and I’ll wait for as long as it takes.’

Fingers shaking, Yuuri checked the timestamp on the message. It had been sent a few hours ago – he had no idea why a separate notification for it had popped up. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was already half-past seven. There was no way GP was still waiting after all this time.

There was no way Yuuri even wanted to SEE the other man now.

He had his shoes on and was running to the park before he could even comprehend what was happening.


	40. Chapter 40

Yuuri came to a sliding stop in front of the small gate that marked the entry to the park, cursing himself for having come at all. Even if that text had been serious, there was no way the older man would still be there hours later. He walked through the gate anyway and looked around.

It was deserted yet again – that at least would make it easier for him to meet his mystery man. He didn’t know what he was looking for, or where, so he headed to the tree where he’d first run into Victor.

Unsurprisingly, there was nothing there.

Calling himself a fool ten times over, Yuuri was about to turn and head back to the hotel when something cold nudged his hand. He looked down to find Makkachin staring up at him with sad doggy eyes. Slowly and gently, she grasped the sleeve of his jacket and tugged. Confused, he allowed himself to be led, or rather, dragged.

Makkachin pulled him quite far across the park, to a bench he hadn’t previously seen. There was someone sitting there, alright, but it wasn’t GP – it was Victor. When Makkachin had approached him, he’d half expected to find both men there, but apparently GP still didn’t have the guts to meet him in person.

Well, at least he knew better than to think Victor’s presence was a coincidence now. Why was it him and not GP? Had the other man chickened out?

As if he’d heard him approach – and maybe he had – Victor turned around, long hair flying in the cold air.

The man’s face was pink, the freezing air clearly having bitten at his skin for a while. It wasn’t that that caught Yuuri’s attention though – it was the tears that ran down his cheeks. Why was Victor crying? It made no sense.

Unless… unless Yuuri had been wrong? And it WASN’T just a joke? But how could that be? More confused than ever, he cautiously approached the older Russian on the bench.

“You came.” Victor greeted him, his voice rough and scratchy. Gulping, Yuuri just nodded.

“I didn’t think you would.” “I wasn’t planning on it. I just… I only got his text a few minutes ago.”

“His… text?”

“The one inviting me here. I didn’t… I didn’t realise you’d be here.” Victor ran a hand through his long, open hair – clearly not for the first time. “I told you I’d wait however long it took. Besides, it’s only been a few hours.”

“No.”

“Hm? Yuuri?”

“No.”

No, it couldn’t be. It had been GP sending those texts. Not Victor Nikiforov. Unless… unless…

No. It wasn’t possible. Victor couldn’t be GP. They’d spoken about Victor many times. GP had even said he’d never seen Victor skate in person. He’d said… he’d said he’d only seen it in recordings.

He was critical of Victor. Oh god. No, it couldn’t be. Because… because if it WAS, he’d shown VICTOR FUCKING NIKIFOROV his poster collection… of VICTOR FUCKING NIKIFOROV.

He distantly felt himself fall backwards, plonking down into a soft pile of powder snow. It was cold.

“You… no!”

“Yuuri, you’re starting to worry me. Are you… ok? Is this anxiety again?” Victor looked him up and down critically.

“No!” The man had said 'again' – implying that… that it had happened before.

He heaved a breath, hands shaking. Could… could GP be Victor? And if so… what did that mean? The man had clearly still known he was Victor’s fan and never said anything. Yet… if it had been a joke, why would he be here?

Hands settled on his shoulders as his field of vision seemed to narrow down to his shaking hands in his lap. He could distantly hear a voice trying to soothe him, hands gently running through his hair, eventually, one finding its way to his own and linking their fingers.

Yuuri couldn’t think, couldn’t help the shaking, could only clearly hear the sound of his breathing and then… then it got better. The shaking tapered off and he could make out what the voice was saying – Victor’s voice. The man was mumbling something, in Russian – a soft, gentle tone that felt like balm on Yuuri’s raw nerves.

He forced himself to look up, to meet Victor’s eyes. They’d never been so close – shivering, Yuuri amended that thought. They’d never been that close… in daylight. If Victor really was GP, at least.

Sky-blue eyes stared back at him, concern, worry and… affection? visible in them. Oh god.

He tried to focus on something else, something physical, the way his therapist had taught him. Victor’s hand worked just fine for that – he tightened his hold on the man’s fingers and took a deep breath. They needed… needed to talk.

“Victor?”

“Yuuri.”

“You… weren’t making fun of me? With GP?”

“I wasn’t… WHAT?” Victor pulled back; confusion evident on his beautiful features. He stood and Yuuri scrambled up to follow him.

“You think I was making fun of you?” Victor asked, his voice incredulous. “I, well… yes. What was I supposed to think?”

“You… literally ANYTHING else? When have I EVER acted like I was making fun of you?” “You knew I was a fan of Victor Nikiforov… of your skating.” Guilt flashed across the man’s features in reaction to Yuuri's words.

“I… yes, I did. And YOU knew I was a fan of Yuuri Katsuki.”

“Yes, well, that’s not the same. I showed you my poster collection! Of… of YOU! You KNEW!” Victor nodded. “I did, yes. And I’ve been trying to figure out how to do this, how to tell you for MONTHS.”

“You were trying to tell me… that you were GP?” “Yes! I had all these grand ideas and plans, but nothing seemed right!” “So what you decided on was…?” Victor huffed and buried his face in his hands for a few moments before continuing. “My plan… I was going to meet you as myself. To… spend time with you. Show you that I’m not this untouchable idol. Then, I was going to ask you to dinner and tell you over dinner.”

Yuuri gaped at the man before him.

“That’s…”

“The dumbest thing I could have come up with?” Victor asked, bitterly. “Yes, I realised that when you figured it out and ran away, Yuuri.”

“I was going to say, sweet? And… I mean, I didn’t figure it out? That you were GP? I’m not sure I believe it now? You’re Victor Nikiforov.”

“And you’re Yuuri Katsuki. Wait, if… if you didn’t figure it out, then why did you suddenly run?”

Yuuri felt his face flush in embarrassment. “I thought… I heard your text alert. My voice? I thought that you and… you and GP were separate people. That you’d been making fun of me behind my back. That I was… a joke.”

Yuuri found himself wrapped firmly in the Russian’s arms a moment later, tackled right back into the snow – he was really starting to spend too much time in the snow. His pants were still soaked from his last stint in the snow.

“Yuuri… Yuuri, you could never be a joke. It was never a joke. I can’t believe you thought that!” And then and there, neither could Yuuri. How could he think that after months of constant, daily messaging, of them confiding in each other, that it could be a joke? His arms wrapped around Victor and he squeezed back just as hard.

Eventually, they untangled themselves and straightened up again, now both covered in snow and quite wet.

“We should have this conversation in dry clothes, don’t you think? Assuming… you want to have this conversation and didn’t come here to tell me to stop spamming you with text messages?” Yuuri hated the flash of insecurity across Victor’s features.

“Yeah. We should… we should talk.”

And so, Yuuri found himself holding Victor Nikiforov’s hand as they walked, in silence, to what Yuuri could only assume was his home – his hotel was in the opposite direction. It still made very little sense to him, all things considered, but strangely it wasn’t even that much of a stretch, for Victor to be GP.

The GP he knew was kind, affectionate, occasionally insecure… and nothing about Victor seemed insincere now. Really, if it wasn’t for the fact that Yuuri had been his fan for so long, if Victor had just been an attractive stranger, Yuuri wouldn’t have questioned his identity for a second – what a man as handsome as Victor wanted with HIM, sure, but that was a different thing for his anxiety to dig its teeth into later.


	41. Chapter 41

Victor’s apartment as it turned out, was quite spectacular. It was well-furnished, spacious and absolutely nothing like Yuuri’s cramped room. Yuuri thought it fit the taller Russian well – especially when, as soon as they reached the living room, Makkachin sprawled out on the couch, taking it up in its entirety.

Makkachin. Makya. Yuuri really WAS an idiot, wasn’t he?

Scratching her head as he walked past, Yuuri followed Victor to what turned out to be his bedroom. Yuuri KNEW that room – he’d seen parts of it, at least, in photos. A corner in which Makya’s bed stood. Dark sheets that contrasted the pale skin on that one particular photo he liked so much it was just about burnt into his retinas. Then there was a part that he was only partially familiar with – the wall opposite of the bed.

There, stuck up with tape, was a poster of Yuuri. He’d seen it before – the other ones around it though, they were new. Two of them seemed professionally edited and printed, while the other two just looked like screenshots from a video blown up and printed. There were Yuuri Katsuki posters in Victor Nikiforov’s bedroom.

If he’d not already had his little breakdown on the matter, Yuuri was fairly certain he’d be hyperventilating in a corner somewhere. As it was… he watched as a slightly drenched and slightly dishevelled Victor stripped down to his shirt and trousers, before digging through a wardrobe in search of… something. Eventually, he came up holding what looked like some sweatpants and t-shirts. One set for himself, and one set he handed to Yuuri.

Staring in disbelief at the clothes, he almost missed the way Victor flushed a little. “Don’t you want to change into something dry?”

“Yes, of course. Thank you.” Not wanting to make a fool of himself, Yuuri quickly stripped out of his jacket and hoodie. His shirt was mostly dry, but his jeans were not – they’d soaked up a fair bit of snow during his time in it. Still, he didn’t want to make a fool of himself, so he yanked his shirt off, and quickly set about undoing his belt.

It wasn’t until his fingers were on the button of his jeans that he realised that Victor hadn’t moved, wasn’t so much as breathing, actually.

The Russian had a lovely flush across his cheekbones, his eyes fully trained on Yuuri’s hands. He faltered.

“Should I… did you want me to change in the bathroom?” “Uh, no? I just assumed… you’re normally very shy?” Yuuri cleared his throat, suddenly quite self-conscious. “Yes, well, my parents run an onsen? I’m used to, uh, bathing with strangers. Do you mind?”

Victor cleared his throat.

“Do I mind that my crush is taking off his clothes in my bedroom?”

Yuuri felt himself blushing bright red at the other’s words, suddenly far more aware that… well, that he was standing a few feet from a bed. With Victor.

“Why don’t you keep changing here, and I’ll head to the bathroom?” Without waiting for a response, Victor walked to another door leading from the bedroom and disappeared behind it.

Yuuri quickly changed into what turned out to be a much too large t-shirt and relatively large sweatpants. With nothing else to do, he sat on the edge of the bed and folded his clothes, all the while resisting the urge to smell either the shirt or Victor’s bed.

There was a decided air of ‘fanboy’ hanging around Yuuri, he realised after a moment of reflection. It was an odd combination of feelings – on one hand, he still felt confused, upset and frankly detached from the whole Victor-GP thing… and then there was the other side of it. He was in the bedroom of his long-term crush, Victor Nikiforov – a man who had POSTERS OF YUURI up, and who had blushed at seeing him shirtless. He affected the other man in a way that made him feel powerful and more than a little dizzy.

He didn’t yet know how those two things fit together yet, but he was quite determined to find out. These feelings… they needed a name, and he was determined to find one that did them justice.

The door to the bedroom creaked open, making Yuuri’s heart skip a beat.

Victor was standing in the open door, his loose hair brushed forward over one shoulder, the light from the bathroom illuminating him from behind.

“Are you… ready to talk?”

“Yeah.”


	42. Chapter 42

Yuuri followed Victor out to the living room again, where Makkachin had vacated the couch. It seemed a lot smaller with both of them sitting there, one on either end, not touching, but only just.

He fiddled with the hem of his shirt as they sat in silence for just a moment. Victor broke it first.

“Did you read my texts? Did you get them? I thought you may have blocked my number.”

“Ah, no? I kept my phone off. I only saw all of them… well, a few minutes before I came to meet you. I didn’t… read them.”

Victor looked more relieved than anything at his admission.

“Okay… Feel free not to read them. I was panicking, and I said some pretty stupid stuff.” “Stupid?” “Mh. Maybe we should… start at the beginning?”

“Yes. That sounds right. So… the dating site.”

Victor cleared his throat. “Yes. I never lied – Georgi made me sign up to it. I filled in everything I could think of and after a lot of disappointment, I found… you.”

“I did a similar thing? I mean, I had this type and I was going to put in sensible things. Instead… instead, I filled in what I really wanted. And… the result was you.”

“And neither of us knew who the other was. I was a little… worried when I found out you were my fan, to be honest. I was worried you wouldn’t like me for myself. So when you wanted to stay anonymous, I was relieved.”

“And I thought… that you’d be disappointed. I’m just me, and I figured if I stayed mysterious, you’d stay interested just a little longer.” Victor nodded, smiling weakly.

“Yuuri… you were interesting to me, not the mystery. I actually was really worried when I saw that performance and you asked me to pick which skater, I wanted it to be.”

Yuuri cringed a little at the memory – he’d been SO scared of Victor’s answer.

“And you… picked me?” “That I did. You really captured my attention. I was worried when I picked you that I’d chosen wrong… or even more that I’d chosen right. Your skating is beautiful. Some day you’ll surpass me, I’m sure of it.”

Shaking his head at that ridiculous claim, Yuuri decided to focus on the topic they were discussing.

“You.. you invited me to Russia. To… watch you skate?”

Victor’s flush was a thing of beauty.

“I wanted to impress you. Show off. I only even agreed to do the ice show on the condition that I could have half a dozen seats.” “Half a dozen…?” “Well, I wanted the space around you to be empty to make it easier to see you. I was too far away though. I could only… well, I could only make out that there was a brunette boy sitting there.”

“Oh god, I gushed to you that I made eye contact… with you.” Groaning in shame, he hid his face in Victor’s shirt. The other man just laughed and waved him off.

“I thought it was cute. I was trying REALLY hard to impress you, so I’m glad you… noticed.”

“And then… the bathroom.” Yuuri stared down at his fingers again.

“Yes, the bathroom.” Pale fingers brushed over his own, only to retreat. “Yes… the bathroom. It’s where you kissed me. I didn’t expect it.” Neither had Yuuri, but he wasn’t going to say that out loud.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t – that I couldn’t meet you properly.” Victor again shook his head. “No, it’s fine. Like I said… I pictured us meeting so many times. I wanted it to be perfect. I wanted… I had all of these plans.”

“And then I messed it all up.” Yuuri observed, more than a little cynically.

“No, no, don’t even think that. It was my fault. I should have never even tried to deceive you. I just… I wanted to make sure that when you met GP, you’d already know that I, Victor, am just… just a person.”

“And my idol.” Yuuri added. Victor chuckled and shrugged in reaction.

“Yes, well, being Victor Nikiforov is exhausting. And lonely. Being GP and drooling after this cute Japanese boy… well, it’s definitely more me.”

Yuuri’s fingers clenched on the hem of his shirt. “That’s… aren’t you disappointed? That I’m me.”

“Disappointed… Yuuri, have we been going through the same relationship so far? What is there to be disappointed about? You’re cute, kind, understanding, you love poodles, you’re an amazing skater… How could ANYONE be disappointed by you?”

Yuuri blushed and cleared his throat.

“… Did you say relationship?”


	43. Chapter 43

“I did. Is that a problem? We may not have discussed it much, but… I’d like to be in one.” “But that’s… we’ve only met… twice? Three times?”

“Yuuri, I knew I had feelings for you before I knew your name. If that’s too fast for you, I understand, but I wanted to tell you.” Victor ran a hand through his hair. “Technically, I already told you – you REALLY shouldn’t read all of those text messages.”

Ignoring the latter half of what Victor had said, Yuuri focused on processing the first. Victor had… feelings. For him. Of course – he felt the same, but… but… could he really say it? Did he deserve to?  
Yuuri found himself reaching out to the other man the way he’d longed to do for a long time. Victor didn’t hesitate before returning his touch, linking their hands and squeezing gently.

“I feel the same way? About you? I mean… I like you. You, as GP.”

“That’s good because I REALLY like Katsudamn – not that I don’t think Yuuri Katsuki is great as well.” “I saw the posters. Some of them weren’t real ones, right?”

The Russian flicked a strand of silver hair from his face with his free hand. “Yes, well, there is a disturbing lack of Yuuri Katsuki posters on the market.”

“Victor… is it weird, for you? That I’m Yuuri Katsuki?” The Russian winked. “Not really. Is it weird that I’m GoldenPuppy?”

Yuuri opened his mouth in order to affirm that YES, YES it was weird, but the words wouldn’t quite come out.

“It’s… it’s not? Somehow… it’s not as strange as I thought it would be.” He said instead, finding his words to be, well, the truth. It WASN’T odd to think of Victor as GP. It had been unthinkable a day before, but… but… looking at the silver-haired man before him, truly noticing the sincere affection in those stunning blue eyes for the first time…

“You know, I think maybe it’s not strange at all. Victor… I’m so glad we got to this point. Sorry that I messed up so much.”

“You’re looking at it wrong.” “Hm?” A soft smile spread on the Russian’s features.

“Yes, we certainly didn’t take the fastest path to get here, but… it couldn’t have gone any better, really. Think about it. The software introduced us, and we… well, we chose each other when we didn’t know who the other was. Then… we found out that you were my fan and I yours. We chose each other again, still not knowing the truth. We met in perhaps the worst possible scenario in that bathroom… and we picked each other again. You told me you would pick GP over Victor Nikiforov, and I told you that I would choose you over Yuuri Katsuki. We kept picking each other, over and over again. What could be better than that?”

Oh.

Well, when he put it like that.

Yuuri abruptly stood and pulled the taller man into a standing position as well. Victor led himself be guided easily, though his confusion was plain to see.

Yuuri could feel the anxiety well up in him, but for once… for once he decided to not even acknowledge it.

“Then, can I choose you one more time?” He asked, stepping just a little closer to Victor.

The man’s reaction was better than he’d even hoped for. “Yuuuuuri!” He practically purred and wrapped his arms around Yuuri’s shoulders.

“Yes, please. Choose me as many times as you’d like. I promise to do the same?”

In lieu of replying, Yuuri leaned up on the tips of his toes and pressed their lips together in a gentle but firm kiss.

He felt the Russian’s breath hitch as he did so, the soft sound almost drowned out by his own thundering heartbeat.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still – then, the world moved. He distantly felt a hand slide from his shoulders to his waist and to his lower back, while another pressed between his shoulder blades, holding him in position. He felt himself shift when Victor bent him backwards as he deepened the kiss.

He didn’t even think about pulling back.

Instead, he wrapped his arms around Victor’s neck and kissed back as well as he could. He wasn’t sure if he measured up, but he also couldn’t be too concerned, not with how fantastic it made him feel.

What made it even better was that Victor was making these little noises when Yuuri moved his tongue just so or squeezed his arms around his shoulders more tightly… He was rapidly becoming addicted to those sweet little groans.

His own arms were still wrapped around Victor’s neck, holding on for dear life.

Somehow, the both of them stumbled the few feet from the couch to the bedroom door like that – it wasn’t graceful or elegant, but it WAS one of the hottest things Yuuri had ever witnessed.

Victor somehow managed to get the door open, and moments later, they were tumbling into the bed Yuuri had been sitting on not long ago, their kiss finally interrupted.

Yuuri landed on his back with a gasp, Victor leaning over him supported by his arms. His open hair had fanned out and was hanging around them like a silver veil. Giving in to the urge to do something he’d been curious about since before he’d met him, he ran his fingers through the silver tresses.

It felt as soft as it looked.

“You like my hair, don’t you?” Victor asked as he nuzzled into Yuuri’s hand. “Yeah. Is… did you really want to cut it off?”

“No, not really. My publicist and coach kept telling me I should ‘for my image’.” “I think you should keep it if you like it.” “Mh, I do. Especially if you do as well.” In a mock-push-up, Victor leaned down to kiss Yuuri, before raising himself up again.

“Say, Yuuri?”

“Mh?” Still playing with Victor’s hair, he was only half paying attention.

“How far do you… want this to go?”


	44. Chapter 44

Yuuri froze for a few moments. Certain parts of him wanted to just agree to anything and everything but… but no.

“I-I don’t know? I’m not-I don’t think I want… too much?” Victor clearly tried to hide his disappointment and failed quite badly at it.

“Yeah, that’s okay.” He assured Yuuri, pressing a few kisses to his mouth and cheeks. “Is it? Are you sure?” Yuuri confirmed – he didn’t want to lose the other man over something like… that.

“Yes, yes, it really is. I’m sorry if I seem impatient. I’ve just… been waiting for this moment for a long time. And I’ve had a LOT of fantasies about you in this room… I was getting ahead of myself. I’m sorry.”

Yuuri nodded in relief – he totally understood. If, well, Victor Nikiforov randomly stumbled into HIS bedroom, he’d feel the same. Now that that was a distinct possibility…

“Would you like to come visit me sometime? Now that we… know?” Yuuri blurted out.

“Wow! Yuuri, I would love that! Ohhh this season is almost over – are you participating in your nationals? Worlds?”

Shaking his head rather furiously, Yuuri waved him off. “Maybe next year. I’m not quite good enough fr that level.” Victor firmly grasped him by the shoulders. “First of all, you are the ONLY certified Japanese skater with quads in your age group. Secondly, you are MORE THAN good enough. Next year, Yuuri Katsuki, I expect to see you at Worlds.”

“You want to… skate against me?”

Victor chuckled. “I want to do many things with you, but for argument's sake, let’s say I want to skate against you, yes.”

Flushing a little, Yuuri cleared his throat and ran both hands through his hair. “That’s… I want to reach your level. I’ll work hard.”

“Mh, you better. If you’d like, we can train together between seasons? I’ll be too busy to do it during, but in between… mh, you still don’t have a coach, do you?” Yuuri mutely shook his head.

“Yes, well, we’ll have to do something about that. Are you willing to move for a good coach?”

“Uh, I don’t know? I’ve not thought about it? But… I’ll be going to college starting next fall, so I won’t be able to go too far.”

Victor dropped back onto the bed and pulled Yuuri into a sitting position next to himself. “College, hm? You’re very smart.” “Oh, I don’t know about that. I just… I want to have something, in case skating doesn’t work out.”

“Why would skating not work? What are you looking to study?”

Carefully, wondering if Victor would protest, Yuuri stretched out next to the Russian. “I don’t know? I don’t think I’m… that great? Either way though, I’m thinking about studying engineering.”

After a moment of silence, Victor whistled. “Impressive. I never, ah, made it into college? Not that I tried very hard in school.” Silence fell between them and to Yuuri, it felt just a little odd.

“Is… Is everything okay?” Yuuri asked after a few moments.

Victor hummed in reply.

“Does it bother you?” “Does… what bother me?” Yuuri asked, extremely confused. “That you’re… smarter than me? I’m really all about skating. I, ah, expected you to be the same?” Yuuri giggled. “No, not at all. You’re the best in the world! I’m… not.”

“Well, you should try to be. You have talent. Plus, if you keep focusing on skating…” Yuuri waited for the man to finish his sentence, but he didn’t seem inclined to do so.

“Victor?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

“Is it?”

“Mh, you’re just… more than I expected. Kind, wonderful, yes. A talented skater, of course. Yuuri Katsuki? That was just a great bonus. But you’re also… smart? Ambitious, confident… Hm…”

Yuuri fought down whatever embarrassing noise nearly tore its way from his throat. Confident? Right.

Victor pressed a finger to his lips in a thoughtful gesture.

“Maybe I’m just worried you’ll figure out everything I have to offer a little too soon.” Yuuri shook his head. “No such thing. You’re wonderful. I’ve admired you for years.”

“Oh? Then how come I’m the one who has the boy from his posters in his room right now?”

“Well… that’s… are you really worried I could… lose interest?”

To his surprise, Victor wrapped him into a tight hug.

“No, not really. I’m not the worrying type. I tend to go with the flow for most things. I don’t have the best impulse control, historically speaking. I just worry, sometimes.”

Yuuri understood – dear god, did he understand.

“Don’t feel that way. I won’t get bored of you.” He had no words for how ridiculous that notion even was.

“Well, I certainly don’t plan on just letting it happen. I’m going to give you a run for your money, Yuuri Katsuki.”

“Wow….” He whispered back before Victor pressed their lips together in another kiss. He really didn’t know what to make of Victor’s admission of doubt – that was rather his thing. If Victor took it from him, what did he have to contribute, really?

Kissing Victor back harder, he decided to focus on that some other time.

For now… well, he was in a cute boy’s bed, and he wasn’t going to waste that moment.

Yuuri had no idea how much time passed with them kissing, only breaking apart to breathe and occasionally whisper little things to each other – things they’d kept private, so far. Yuuri admitted how he’d started thinking of GP with Victor’s features, while the other man admitted to him that he had a Google alert set on ‘Yuuri Katsuki’.

Yuuri mentioned that he was part of several online chatrooms that praised Victor’s skating, Victor admitted that he’d been planning on seeing some of Yuuri’s events, regardless of his relationship with Katsudamn.

Both admitted that they’d spent slightly too much time fantasising about the other, not to mention time spent staring at the photos they’d sent. Victor mentioned how much he’d gushed to his rink mates and coach, to the point that Yakov was blaming him for his hair loss. Yuuri mentioned how he’d wondered what it would be like for them to either have the same coach… or for Yuuri to learn directly from Victor.

They shared a lot of little secrets that way – nothing significant, but small details that just made them feel that little bit closer.

The fact that all their talking was also interspersed with lots of kissing and the occasional bit of touching certainly helped that feeling along. When Yuuri finally realised that they’d been in bed, talking and kissing for some time, it was well past midnight.

“Do you just… want to sleep over?” Victor asked, after noticing Yuuri’s surprise. “I’m… not sure that’s a good idea?”

“Oh, I don’t mean anything by it. Just… I wouldn’t recommend St. Petersburg at night. It’s not…the friendliest of places. I’ll get you back to your hotel first thing tomorrow?”

“My… hotel. You’re right. My flight back home leaves tomorrow night.” It bothered him, just a little, how readily he’d forgotten about the fact that he and Victor would have to part in no time at all.

“Ah, right. Well, you can’t miss that obviously. But, I’d rather spend time with you until then.” Yuuri nodded his agreement, and just like that it was decided that Yuuri would stay. It felt… right.

Not half an hour later, they were both under Victor’s covers, half a foot apart, with Makka curled at the foot end of the bed. Yuuri didn’t feel like falling asleep. He was laying in bed with Victor – not Victor the skater he idolised but Victor the goofy man that loved poodles more than air.

He fell asleep with a smile.


	45. Chapter 45

Waking up the next day felt… right. Never having been much of a morning person, by all rights waking up with a mouthful of silver hair and a somewhat… pressing problem should have felt awful – alas, it didn’t. Carefully trying to get his face out of Victor’s hair without releasing the taller man (who somehow had ended up as the little spoon overnight), he somehow managed. The next problem was… well, nestled against Victor’s very nice behind. Deciding to ignore that for the time being, he focused on the rest of the situation.

His legs were asleep since Makka had sprawled over them during the night – the sun was tickling his face and only just not bothering his eyes. A few minutes more and it would be. Yuuri had never been happier.

Naturally, it was that precise moment that his anxiety chose in order to remind him of its existence with a rather important piece of information.

Victor was GP. Victor had just skated in the Russian Nationals. Victor had WON the Russian Nationals. Victor had WON the RUSSIAN NATIONALS. On his birthday. Which Yuuri had forgotten all about, what with everything going on.

He was the worst boyfriend in the world.

Suddenly frantic, he pulled his hand out from under Victor, careful not to wake him.

Thankfully neither the man nor his dog woke up. Yuuri took a moment to admire how beautiful the man was when he slept… then he dashed for the door, pulled his shoes on and booked it down the stairs down the block. He’d looked up the nearest supermarket, in hopes of some kind of emergency gift or apology token, at least.

Standing in front of the flower section of the surprisingly large supermarket, Yuuri realised he had no idea what he was doing. He chose a small arrangement of blue and white roses and headed straight for the chocolate section. There wasn’t anything labelled ‘Sorry I forgot your birthday’ – at least not according to Google Translate – so he settled for the fanciest-looking chocolates he could see.

Next was the toy section.

By the grace of whatever god stocked Russian supermarkets, he found the perfect stuffed animal at the shop – a miniature poodle that almost matched Makka’s colouring. Flowers, toy and chocolates in hand, Yuuri made his way to the register, only briefly stopping in the coffee shop in order to pick up tea and an assortment of cakes. He didn’t know what Victor liked for breakfast – hopefully, something sweet would do.

Thus burdened with his purchases, he hurried back to the flat. He’d grabbed a key from Victor’s table on his way out and so let himself back in, hoping that the other would still be asleep.

He was… not. Having set his purchases down on the couch, Yuuri had snuck to the bedroom to check if Victor was asleep and nearly tripped over Makka, who was laying next to said door. It wasn’t fully closed, and so Yuuri could peek in – it didn’t take a genius to figure out what Victor was doing.

The man was laying on his back, one hand decidedly down his trousers, moving rhythmically. The other hand… well, he was pressing Yuuri’s shirt against his face and chest.

Yuuri gulped. That… shouldn’t be half as hot as it was.

He felt himself responding and nearly stepped into the bedroom to offer himself as a replacement for that shirt when he realised how grossly inappropriate he was being. He was intruding on a private moment when really he SHOULD be setting up everything for Victor’s birthday/win/apology gift.

Darting around, Yuuri busied himself in the kitchen, trying to clatter things around as loudly as possible to alert the other to the fact that he was back. He felt silly, clamouring about with his cutlery, but when he heard the shower come on a few minutes later, he felt relieved – clearly, Victor was… done.

Blushing, he arranged everything for when the Russian would eventually emerge from the shower.

He didn’t have to wait long either – in just a few minutes, the bedroom door opened.

The sight of a shirtless Victor, hair damp and towel slung around his shoulder, sweatpants low on his hips was… quite spectacular.

Gulping, Yuuri tried to remember what he’d been planning – or at the very least, his own name.

“Good morning, Victor.” He greeted, mouth dry. “Mh, good morning, Yuuri. Wow! What’s all this?”

“Ah, well… I just realised yesterday that I forgot some things?”

Victor walked over to him and pressed a kiss to his brow. It felt so domestic, Yuuri nearly forgot what he’d witnessed just a few moments ago. “What did you forget?” Victor asked as he picked up a muffin from the selection Yuuri had bought and took a bite from it.

“Well… a fair lot? I mean… you skated in the nationals.”

“That I did. And?”

“You… won.”

“Mhm, for the third time in a row.”

“I didn’t congratulate you. I also… well, it was your birthday. So I got you this.” “You got me… flowers? For my birthday?” “I did? And chocolates. And breakfast. And… a stuffed animal? I also wanted to say…” He broke off, taking a deep breath.

“Congratulations on winning the Russian Nationals, and… happy birthday.”

For a long moment, there was no reaction at all, Victor simply stood there, holding his half-eaten muffin and staring at Yuuri.

They stood like that long enough that Yuuri’s anxiety flared up – just enough to make him wonder if maybe… maybe he’d miss-stepped. Did Victor hate what he’d done?


	46. Chapter 46

“Yuuuuuuuri!” Victor dropped the muffin and practically jumped Yuuri – he found himself supporting most of the weight of the taller skater. “I love surprises! You didn’t have to do this!”

Gently holding Victor to himself, Yuuri shrugged. “I… wanted to do it? I’ve been so caught up in my own feelings, I forgot all about everything else.” “Oh but Yuuri, that’s perfectly fine. I don’t much care for birthdays, and as far as winning goes, I’ve already received the best gift I could hope for.”

“Hm?”

Victor gave a cute pouty expression. “Well, what do you think it is?”

“Uh… My shirt?”

Yuuri slapped a hand over his mouth before he’d even fully processed what he’d said.

Oh god.

Now… now Victor knew that he’d seen.

Dying inside from embarrassment, Yuuri stared at the floor.

“You, uh, you were back? Already?” Victor’s voice sounded downright… frightened?

“Yes, I was checking to see if you were, uh, asleep? You… weren’t.”

Victor turned his back and groaned.

“I’m so sorry Yuuri, I shouldn’t have done that. I can totally understand if you… if you’re disgusted.”

Disgusted? Yeah, right.

“I’m not! I’m not at all! I was embarrassed that I almost walked in on you. Why my shirt?” Victor shrugged in response, still mostly turned from Yuuri.

“You smell nice? When I saw that you’d gone… mh, I worried you may have left until I saw you hadn’t changed back into your clothes. Sooooo, I thought to myself, why not? I mean, I just spent a morning with you nestled against my back…”

It was Yuuri’s turn to be embarrassed.

“Were you… were you awake when I woke up?”

“Oh, I was awake for quite a while. Just… enjoying laying there like that. You said you didn’t want to do anything and I respect that, but I figured there was nothing wrong with enjoying some… cuddling.” “Well, I mean there’s not but… I thought you were asleep?”

“Nope. I have to say though, nothing like spending half an hour with you rubbing yourself against me in your sleep to… wake me up.”

“And my shirt…” “Well, you weren’t there, and it felt… weird to use your pictures, after meeting you, and you staying over.” “And, uh, when you say my pictures…?”

Victor pulled his phone from a pocket and tapped at it for a few moments, before turning it to face Yuuri. He was looking at a folder on said phone – pictures.

He realised what he was looking at almost immediately – pictures he’d sent Victor. All of them, actually – including the more, uh, raunchy ones. Those were favourited, actually.

Now, it wasn’t that he didn’t have a similar folder, he was just impressed that the other man was willing to show him.

“Do you mind that I kept them?”

Filled with a sudden burst of confidence – and why not, VICTOR NIKIFOROV had jerked off to Yuuri’s shirt – he tugged the other man closer and snatched up the phone. He knew that shirtless and damp Victor looked a lot better than Yuuri did in his oversized borrowed clothes, but it didn’t much matter.

A hand pressed to Victor’s lower back, he leaned against the older man and quickly snapped a few selfies. The pictures came out better than expected – Victor had smiled almost instinctively and even Yuuri had managed a decent expression.

“There. I added a new one.” He said before handing back the phone.

He wasn’t sure if he imagined the other man’s mumbled ‘wow’ or not.

Either way, he turned to give Victor his cup of tea and pointed to the selection of pastries. “Do you want to eat?”

“Eat? Oh yes, what happened to my mu-” The Russian broke off mid-word when he saw just where said muffin had disappeared to.

Makka was laying on the floor, on her back, happily wagging her tail, with a muffin wrapper stuck to her forehead.

“Makya! Yuuri, what was in that muffin?” “Uh, just blueberries. No chocolate or anything.”

“Oh thank god. Makya, you know you can’t just eat everything you see!” Despite his harsh words, Victor leaned down, plucked off the wrapper and scratched Makkachin’s ears.

Equally relieved, Yuuri took the wrapper and threw it away before sitting down at the table with Victor. They had breakfast in relative silence. Yuuri was still reeling from the events of the morning, and if Victor’s faint flush and occasional glances were anything to go by, the man had some… things on his mind as well.

Breakfast, at least, was delicious.

The reminder that the rest of the world existed, afterwards, was not.

The fact that Yuuri had a flight to catch wasn’t something he could just forget, nor was it something he could ignore. Victor was the same. After finishing their meal, Yuuri ambled into the bedroom in order to pick up his clothes. He’d just changed into his jeans when Victor clearing his throat made him turn around.

Once again flushed, Victor held out another shirt. Looking down at the one in his hands and then the other one, he accepted Victor’s offering and set his own shirt down on the bed.

Pulling on the second borrowed shirt in a day, he found the second one to fit a bit better.

Victor was quick to take Yuuri’s shirt and throw it into his washing machine.

“I’ll… give it back the next time we see each other? It won’t be done in time even if I start it now.”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right. I guess that’s fine? Thanks for lending me this one.” “Of course. Should we… are you ready to go back to your hotel? I’ll come with you.”

No.

“Yes.”


	47. Chapter 47

The walk back to the hotel was as sweet as it was upsetting. A few steps out of the house, Victor had reached for Yuuri’s hand, linking their fingers together silently. Yuuri walked a lot slower than he otherwise would have, and he was pretty sure Victor did as well.

They still reached the hotel far too quickly for Yuuri’s liking.

He cringed a little when they entered the room – it was messy from the pity party he’d thrown for himself. Still, Victor said nothing as he and Makka settled on the bed. Yuuri set about cleaning up his stuff and packing it into his suitcase.

Now, objectively speaking, he knew that he should have given Victor back his shirt and put on one of his own. He had packed spares.

He didn’t.

Since Victor watched him pack and also didn’t say anything on the matter, he rather suspected that Victor didn’t mind.

Yuuri hadn’t brought that much, so putting it all into the bag was a matter of maybe twenty minutes. With that done, he once again found himself wondering what he was supposed to do. His flight was in the evening… and there were a few hours left to go.

Not enough to do anything, but far too many to leave Victor early.

When the other man beckoned him over to the bed, he didn’t even think about resisting.

Victor pulled him into his lap, shuffling back in order to accommodate the smaller man. Yuuri found he rather liked the position, even if it made certain things… obvious.

It was only a few moments before their lips met in a deep kiss. Yuuri found himself pressed against Victor’s muscled body, both of the Russian’s hands clenched on his thighs.

Yuuri himself had his arms wrapped around Victor’s shoulders, fingers combing through Victor’s beautiful hair.

It was heaven. The only way it could possibly have been better would be if there were fewer clothes between them. Since that wasn’t an option… Yuuri spread his legs a little bit further in order to nudge them closer together. He succeeded, body flush against Victor’s, moaning into the kiss with abandon.

Eventually, Victor broke the kiss, gasping for air. Yuuri wasn’t having it – as the Russian turned his head away just a little, he bent lower in order to press more kisses against Victor’s throat. The other man shuddered under him, practically rubbing himself against him.

Yuuri was… well, he was only human.

He bit down on the soft flesh of Victor’s throat, possibly hard enough to leave a mark.

He hoped so, at least, for a few moments, before he realised how inappropriate he had acted – he hadn’t even asked if Victor was okay with what he was doing.

Leaning back a little, he was momentarily distracted by how wanton Victor looked under him. The man was flushed, dishevelled and panting. Yuuri had to physically restrain himself from diving back in and continuing.

Instead, he sat back on Victor’s legs and waited for the other man to break the silence.

It took a few moments, much to Yuuri’s delight.

“Why… Why did you stop, exactly?” Victor said, his voice rough.

“I wasn’t sure if… if you were okay with it? You may not have wanted…” Yuuri gestured towards Victor’s throat, where a mark was already visible. With how pale the other man was, there was no doubt that the mark would darken some more.

Yuuri gulped.

“You… weren’t sure? Which part of this suggests I could be anything other than really, really, really okay with it?”

“Uhm…”

“For the record, you have permission. Anywhere, anytime, anything you want. Just say the word. Or sit on my lap.”

Wow. That was… wow.

Blushing, Yuuri nodded. To his surprise, Victor leaned up and pressed a kiss to his jaw before wrapping his arms around him in a rather crushing hug.

“We should probably stop if you want to make your plane.”

“I really don’t.” He blurted out, and after a moment of silence, they both laughed.

“I’d rather you stay too, but… but there’s no choice, is there.” “No, not really. Will you… accompany me to the airport?” Victor smiled softly.

“Try and stop me.”

They shared another gentle kiss, then Yuuri stood from Victor’s lap. “Shall we go? We can… we can wait at the airport if you’d like.”

Nodding mutely, Yuuri grabbed his suitcase and followed Victor out of the room – after a few minutes, anyway. They both had to calm down.

Victor was kind enough to talk to the hotel owner and cancel his arranged transfer, and also to order them a new cab. Yuuri enjoyed listening to the other man speaking in Russian. The time waiting for the cab was spent petting Makka and holding hands – on any other occasion, Yuuri would have been on cloud 9. As it was, he just felt… anxious. Anxious about leaving Victor, about the flight and everything that it would mean.

He knew it wasn’t good-bye but… it felt like it.

Their actual good-bye turned out to be a bit less dramatic than he’d thought. Victor charmed an airport employee into letting him follow Yuuri all the way to the security check, where they spent a long time just… holding each other. Makka was happy to just lick their hands and wait until it was time to leave.  
Yuuri didn’t have the strength to turn around and look at Victor as he walked through the scanners and checkpoints, especially as he could hear Makkachin whine until he was past the checks and headed towards the gate.

It wasn’t long until he was sitting on the plane, in the somewhat uncomfortable window seat of his flight back. Yuuri had to fight tears when the plane started taxying to take-off and lost that fight when the plane sped up moments before taking off properly.


	48. Chapter 48

By the time he reached Japan, he was once again exhausted and worn down. Emotionally more than physically, of course, but the last bit of his trip back home passed in a blur. He didn’t feel… well, normal, again until he fell into his bed.

That’s when it all came crashing down on him.

He was dating GP. GP was Victor. He was dating Victor. He’d made out with Victor. He was WEARING VICTOR’S SHIRT. His mind kept circling around those facts as he lay awake in bed. Despite being deeply exhausted and it being quite late, he simply couldn’t fall asleep.

That’s when he remembered something – his phone. He had a good thousand unread texts, and zero intention of deleting them as Victor had suggested more than once.

Well aware that he was opening quite the can of worms, Yuuri powered on his phone and plugged it in.

Navigating to the earliest of the texts took quite a while – he had to scroll up hundreds of messages, after all. Their content… well, the first two dozen or so were apologies. Then there was another dozen asking him to talk, asking him to meet again, to talk about it. More apologies – Yuuri was maybe seventy messages deep before he found the first one that had more than a few words.

It was an apology still – but a different kind. It was longer, mentioned how Victor thought he deserved better, even mentioned how he’d had a plan to tell Yuuri. He was almost glad he hadn’t read them in real-time – he’d have never understood them, not having figured out Victor’s identity yet.

He cringed at his own stupidity every time he thought about it – he had no idea how he hadn’t seen it MUCH sooner.

There were more apologies, Victor outright begging for his forgiveness, over and over.

His heart ached when he thought about how Victor had to have suffered when writing these… and being ignored. He’d thought it had been a joke, hadn’t known the other was as invested as he was.

He realised he hadn’t properly apologised for hurting the man.

Skimming the next few hundred messages, he found them to be quite similar – explanations of how he was trying to make the transition easier for Yuuri, how he realised it was a bad idea, how he’d just tried to make it better and so on.

When his texts changed from apologies to explanations of how happy he had been to meet Yuuri, and how excited, he felt a little bit better too. He knew the other man had still been panicking and suffering but… but seeing his feelings written out made it… better.

He scrolled on, through assurances that Victor still wanted to talk if Yuuri was willing, and more apologies.

Eventually, he reached the bottom of the conversation, and a text acknowledging that Yuuri likely blocked his number. There were still two other conversations from different numbers. He checked the older conversation first. It began with quite a long apology for how Victor had used yet another number to bother Yuuri, how the other didn’t deserve it, how he should have never deceived him and so on.

The rest of the texts were explanations of how he’d taken his rink mate’s phone, of how he hoped that even if Yuuri couldn’t forgive him, he would at least not hate him, of how Yuuri probably deserved someone who wouldn’t lie to him and so on.

It… broke his heart, much as he appreciated the insight into Victor’s thoughts. His heart clenched painfully when Victor started to ask Yuuri if there was something he could do to make it up to the other man if there was any chance that Yuuri would forgive him if there was something he could do, anything at all. There was nothing he needed to do, in the end, but Victor hadn’t known that.

The older skater was literally begging for forgiveness, while Yuuri had been sulking in his room.

After a gap in texts, Victor mentioned the nationals – he said he dedicated the performances to Yuuri. Yuuri felt even worse for not having seen the messages reading that – the older man had outright dedicated record-breaking performances to him and he… he’d run away and not even watched.

And then… well, Victor hadn’t much seemed to care about the skating event in his flat. Yuuri wasn’t sure if it was that he genuinely didn’t mind, or whether the man had been hiding his hurt at Yuuri not knowing that he’d skated for him.

Yuuri found himself desperately wishing he had an event of his own to join so he could skate for Victor… but then, he told himself, there would be time for that. They had all the time in the world.

Gulping as he switched to the third conversation, he wasn’t surprised to find similar stuff. An explanation that he’d borrowed another phone, apologies, explanations, requests for Yuuri to meet him. And then… well, it was the last text that really made his heart skip a beat.

Unknown Nr: I just wanted to say that I love you. I’ve been in love with you… for a while now. I didn’t need to know who you are to fall for you, and it doesn’t change anything. I just… love you. And I wanted you to know that.

Yuuri’s fingers went numb and his phone slipped from his grasp.

Victor loved him. And he’d told him.

Via text.

But still… it counted. Probably.

Definitely.

Yuuri’s heart soared.

He didn’t bother checking the time in Russia before pressing the ‘Call’ button on Victor’s contact.


	49. Chapter 49

The call… didn’t connect.

Confused, Yuuri tried to figure out why. There wasn’t any sort of obvious clue… at least not until he thought to check his phone’s status.

He had flight mode switched on.

It was only then that he realised how… well, odd it was that he hadn’t received any texts from Victor since he’d landed. It was… quite out of character, really.

Cursing himself an idiot, Yuuri switched flight mode off and got ready to call Victor, except… except… he groaned.

Twenty-one texts from GP.

How did he not get suspicious after not hearing from him, from Victor for so long? Yuuri rubbed his eyes and opened the text notification.

Wincing as he quickly changed the saved contact’s name from GP to Victor, he read the first message.

Victor: Have a good flight, Yuuri!

Victor: I’m so happy that I met you.

Victor: I can’t wait to hear from you when you land.

Victor: Is it bad that I’m already looking at flights to Japan? I know it won’t be for a while, but…

No, no it wasn’t bad at all. Yuuri smiled at his phone at the prospect of seeing Victor again sooner than planned… as soon as possible, as far as Yuuri was concerned.

Victor: The flight scanner says you’re already over Japan!

Victor: I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Victor: Hm it says you’ve landed.

Victor: Did everything go okay?

Victor: Yuuuuuri!

Victor: You’re starting to worry me.

Victor: Did you switch your phone off again?

Victor: Hm, you should be almost home by now. I’m a little worried.

Victor: Let me know when you get my messages?

Victor: Yuuuri! It’s been hours!

Victor: You’re so awful at texting back whenever you travel!!!

Victor: You owe me at LEAST four selfies for this.

Victor: I’m so excited that we can finally… well, see each other. We can send pictures of ourselves. No more secrets.

Victor: Okay, now you owe me five pictures.

Victor: Six.

Victor: Seven.

Victor: Is something wrong?

That was the last text – Yuuri groaned in frustration.

Why was he LIKE that?

It took a frustratingly long time for his next attempt at a call to connect, despite the fact that it only rang for a second or so before Victor picked up.

“Yuuri! Finally! I was wondering how long it would take for you to call me! Did you turn your phone off again?” Blushing, he sighed.

“Yes… I did. I’m sorry, I never really noticed.” “Yuuuuri! I can’t believe you! How can you be so bad at texting back? Now you even know who I am!”

“I’m so sorry! I just… I forgot! I was tired! I’m sorry…”

Victor huffed. “Yuuuuri! How cruel! I even texted a lot!”

“Ah yes, I read them. I’ll… I’ll send you photos when I can. Is tomorrow okay?” Victor’s soft laugh eased his nerves considerably.

“Mh, don’t worry about that. I was joking. You don’t have to send anything if you don’t want to.” “No, that’s okay. I’d… like to.” “Then I’ll send lots back, promise.”

“Ah, Victor?”  
“Yes, Yuuri?”

“I wanted to tell you something?”

“Of course, what’s wrong?” Heart beating faster, he shook his head even though Victor couldn’t see. “No! Nothing is wrong. I just… I read your texts.”

“Okay? You already said…?”

He cleared his throat.

“No, I meant… all of your texts. The ones you sent when… when I was hiding.”

“Oh. That. Right.”

“Victor… I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

“No, no Yuuri, that’s alright. I know you didn’t, that you wouldn’t… it’s okay.” Frowning Yuuri tried to figure out exactly what was going on – he got the distinct impression that he was missing something.

Just then, however, a wave of tiredness swept over him, coupled with something like relief that he was talking to Victor again.

He’d felt like he was missing something when they hadn’t been, somehow.

“Yuuri?”

“Mh?”

“Ah, don’t worry about it, okay? The text thing? It’s…not a big deal.”

“You don’t mind?” That didn’t sound right – surely, Victor had to be upset about how he’d ignored him?

“No, of course not. You can’t help how you feel, and besides, there’s still time.”

“Time?” Yuuri struggled to pay attention – he could feel his eyes slipping closed and was powerless to stop it.

“Vic…?” He mumbled, barely able to still hold the phone. “Yuuri… are you… are you falling asleep?” Yuuri could hear the soft chuckle from the other end of the phone, but before he could manage to tell Victor that no, he wasn’t and that he was listening, his world faded to black.


	50. Chapter 50

When he woke, Yuuri felt… refreshed. Not like someone who’d gotten a good night’s sleep – he hadn’t, he’d slept on his phone and fully dressed – but someone from whom an emotional weight had been lifted.

Yuuri hated waking up with the sun in his face, yet the rays shining through the window that morning felt… almost nice. He stretched as much as he could, yawning as he did so. For a few pleasant moment, everything felt… wonderful.

Then he realised that he’d fallen asleep mid-call to Victor. Immediately, he scrambled for his phone to check for messages.

There were three.

Victor: You fell asleep, didn’t you? How cute!

Victor: Well, goodnight sleeping beauty. I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow!

Victor: Your snoring sounds so cute! <3

Groaning, Yuuri typed a response.

Yuuri: Hi there… I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to fall asleep! And I’m sorry I snored! For how long…?

The response was nearly immediate – less than a minute later, his phone buzzed.

Victor: Maybe twenty minutes? I was happy to just listen but the call cut off.

Yuuri: I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to fall asleep.

Victor: No, it’s fine, I don’t mind. You need your rest. Did you sleep well?

Biting his lip, Yuuri smiled down at his phone. The rules of their little thing… well, of their relationship had changed. He was curious to see just how much.

Yuuri: I slept better with you in bed with me.

Victor: <3 <3 <3 me too

Victor: I’m resisting the urge to come to Japan right now.

Yuuri: I’d like to see you again.

Victor: Me too. Got any big plans today?

Yuuri: No. Just… taking a bath, recovering. Tomorrow… training.

Victor: Oh, of course. Now that I know who you are, why don’t you send me videos of you training?

Yuuri: I don’t know if I’m good enough for that…

Moments later, his phone rang.

Victor.

“Hello?” A long sigh was the first response. “Listen to me, Yuuri Katsuki – you have a LOT of potential, and you are wasting it every day you don’t spend with an actual coach. At LEAST let me help you?”

Stunned, Yuuri just… froze, for a moment.

“But I-” “No buts, Mr Katsuki. I expect regular videos from now on.”

“…Okay.”

“Oh… good. Then… how is your day so far?”

“Ah, I haven’t even gotten out of bed yet. I texted immediately to apologise for yesterday…” “Mh, no apology needed. Your snoring is adorable.”

“I didn’t actually snore, did I?” “Mh, that’s a secret between you, me and Makkachin.” As if she heard her name, the poodle in question barked once. Yuuri smiled – he missed her. Even seeing his own beloved Vicchan again hadn’t been able to completely help that.

“Then… I guess it’s okay if you don’t mind?”

“Mh.” Companionable silence fell between them until Yuuri remembered something else – he’d wanted to apologise to Victor for his silence during their time in Russia. He had the distinct impression that his sleep-deprived brain hadn’t quite… hadn’t quite gotten things across the night before.

“Victor, I wanted to apologise again? For… well, the text thing?” He could practically hear the older skater tense up.

“There’s… nothing to apologise for. I told you, you can’t help how you feel and that’s okay.” “No! It’s not okay. I should have never ignored you for so long. I was really selfish and couldn’t even see that you were genuinely hurting. And then… you just acted like everything was okay.”

“Ah, Yuuri? I don’t think we were talking about quite the same thing there.” “W-What were you talking about then?”

“Never mind that. As for the texts… I acted like everything was okay because it was. You came to talk to me. You… forgave me for lying. I wasn’t and am not mad at you.” “But I-” “Like I said, no buts. I’m not mad. You had every right to be upset, and besides… I couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome.”

Suppressing the physical urge to continue with another ‘But I’, Yuuri gulped. Victor seemed serious. “Victor… I just don’t think you should ignore how you feel. I hurt you, and I want you to know that I’m really sorry for it.”

“Mh… That… means a lot to me, Yuuri. Thank you.”

After a few moments, Victor cleared his throat and continued. “Speaking of how I feel…”

Yuuri blushed scarlet, all of a sudden remembering that one text. Even while he mentally made a note to screencap and print it, he tried to think of what to reply.

“Y-Yes?” “When you apologised before… I thought you were talking about that text. You know, the one-” “I know!” Yuuri blurted out, not even letting Victor finish.

“Ah, I thought you were apologising because you didn’t feel the same. Which… is okay too.”

Yuuri held his phone from his ear for a few seconds – long enough to stare at it in disbelief.

Surely Victor was kidding?

He thought Yuuri didn’t feel the same?

Had he been paying any attention at all?

Heart racing faster than it ever had before, Yuuri pressed the phone back against his ear.

“Victor… I love you. I was in love with you when you were just a faceless Russian phone number, and I love you even more now that I know you.”

Silence fell between them.


	51. Chapter 51

“I-I mean! I’m still wearing your shirt now!” Yuuri continued, panicked when Victor didn’t reply at all to his words.

Eventually, a soft laugh was his only response.

He was starting to worry – did Victor not mean it? Had he changed his mind? Had he misunderstood?

Had- “I love you too, Yuuri. I’m… so glad I met you. And that… it worked out.”

Relief surged through him in a sudden wave.

“Yeah. Me too.”

“I can’t believe I have to wait until the end of the season to see you again.”

Yuuri agreed, of course.

“It’s… it’s only world’s that you have left, right?” “That’s right. That’s the only competition. Yakov has me on a few ice shows, but nothing important. How about you?”

“Ah, Japan has a few regional competitions here and there, but nothing at your scale obviously.” “Fair enough. Hm, I’ll want to attend one of them when I can though. Do you do off-season work?”

Yuuri cleared his throat. “Sometimes? It depends. I’d… like it, if you came to visit me.” Victor’s good-natured laugh made his heart skip a beat. “Well, you’ve come to see me twice now, so it’s only fair, isn’t it?”

Yuuri had no real answer for that.

Sighing, he stripped off Victor’s shirt without putting down the phone. “Was that… Yuuri, are you taking your clothes off?”

“I… yes? I can’t get in the bath dressed, can I?” After slipping out of his trousers as well, he put on a robe and headed towards the baths. “No, that’s true. Is it… can you send me photos? From the bath?”

It took him a second to figure out why Victor sounded so… strangled.

“No pictures allowed in the bathing area.” He shot back, used to reminding guests of the rules. “Oh, of course.” Smirking as he peeked into the outdoor bath and found it empty, he decided to, well, tease Victor a little – and why not?

“Then again, I guess I could have a word with the owner’s son. He might let me make an exception.” He’d managed to strip out of his clothes easily, and with just a towel wrapped around his hips and the phone still pressed to his ear, he walked to the side of the steaming pool and stepped in.

Victor who had been quite silent for a bit just made a slight choking noise.

“Where are you, by the way?” Yuuri asked, well aware of the time difference between them – it was quite early in Russia.

“At the rink. In the changing room.” That was rather perfect, wasn’t it? Grinning, Yuuri hung up the call and sat at his favourite spot in the bath, then immediately video-called Victor back.

To his surprise, the other man didn’t pick up for several seconds, and when he did, he looked decidedly flustered. Yuuri could make out the lockers behind him relatively easily, though he was far more focused on the pink flush on the Russian’s cheeks.

He still couldn’t believe it – he was dating Victor Nikiforov.

“It’s nice to see you.” He greeted the other, surprisingly pleased when it took him a moment to respond – a moment he clearly spent staring.

Yuuri hoped that he looked good, sitting in the water and with steam covering everything that… needed covering. “Yes, very nice to see you. I didn’t… expect you to be so… brave?” The Russian eventually choked out. Yuuri had never felt quite so… sexy, before. He was affecting his boyfriend (who was VICTOR NIKIFOROV) and it felt damn good.

“Yes, well, I figured if you were here we’d be bathing together anyway, and now that we no longer have to… hide… I wanted to see you.” Victor’s baffled expression morphed to one of fondness, and Yuuri found himself just as affected.

“Yes, me too. I’m… glad that there are no more secrets between us.” “No, just the distance. Still, this is… better.” They both nodded in unison.

“Does this count as one of the pictures that I owe you?” Yuuri playfully asked after a few moments of silence. “Ah, I, uh? If you… stand up it will?” Chuckling, Yuuri reached under the water to keep his towel – invisible as it was – in place, before leaning up so more of him was out of the water. Victor made what could only be described as a pathetic whimpering sound when he leaned far enough that his abs and just a hint of hipbones was exposed to the cooler air, towel still hidden under the water.

“You said you were at the rink?” Yuuri asked, trying to sound like he wasn’t half-flashing his boyfriend. “Uhuh?” “Don’t you have to train? What will your coach say?” “…Coach?” Yuuri chuckled.

“Yes, won’t he mind that you’ve been gone for a bit?” “Hm? Oh yes, Yakov will be angry. Very angry.” He said it in the same tone one might use to express that a shirt was blue – clearly, he didn’t care much.

“You know, I don’t want to keep you from training. Should I… let you go?” His heart was racing – he hoped the other would say no, of course. He needn’t have worried. Victor was shaking his head quite quickly.

“No! Besides, even if you did, I’m not sure I could tell which of my skates is which right now.” Yuuri grinned at the man’s open admission of how much Yuuri affected him.

Stretching a little without moving the phone too much, he shifted back, and a little lower into the water.

“Mh, sorry, it’s getting chilly here.” “Ah, don’t worry. If it’s more comfortable, please sit back. I don’t want you catching a cold either.” Shaking his head, Yuuri did as the other man suggested and sat down. The warm water played around his shoulders again, taking away the chill.

“Sorry for distracting you from training.” Yuuri remarked when it became obvious that Victor was content to just stare at him for the rest of the day. “Don’t be. I’m not. Feel free to distract me literally any time of day for this.”

Yuuri chuckled. “Really? So I could wake you up at three in the morning just because I’m taking a bath?” Victor sighed and then winked at his camera.

“Yuuri, you could wake me up at three in the morning just because you wanted to chat, but if it’s with something like this… well, PLEASE wake me.”

“I’m not the type to wake up easily.” Yuuri answered, suddenly not quite so confident anymore. What did one say to that sort of thing anyway?

“Ah, I don’t mind mornings so much, but I can definitely say you waking me up with this sort of thing? Definitely a better start to any day.” Blushing, he sunk lower in the water again.

“You… you too? If… I don’t know if this is something you’d want to do, but if… you want to call me or send me photos, you can. I’d like that.”

“Oh? Are you sure?” “Mhm.” He was VERY sure – just didn’t quite know how to phrase it. “I haven’t exactly… I mean, I’m not used to this sort of thing? But I do want to. Do it.”

Victor made a near-purring sound that gave Yuuri goosebumps, even in the hot water.

“Your wish is my command, my Yuuri. Truth be told, I haven’t… I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable by sending things you weren’t ready for… or asking for them. I’m fine keeping this at your pace.”

Yuuri nodded, appreciating the other’s consideration.

“I’m… I’m good. I mean, I don’t know if I’ll always be able to reciprocate, but I’ll… try.” Victor laughed in response and brushed some hair from his forehead.

“Just you wait, you’ll regret saying that once I constantly spam you with suggestive pictures.”

Yuuri couldn’t help snorting. “Right, I’m going to be SO upset if the most beautiful man alive sends me pictures of himself.”

A moment passed between them, then he slapped a hand over his mouth – he hadn’t meant to say that! He wasn’t sure which one of them was blushing more, but the fact that Victor’s mouth was hanging open in the most adorable O-shape made him think it probably didn’t much matter.

At least Victor wasn’t upset – he didn’t want to overstep boundaries by being too… fan-like.

After a few moments of them staring at each other, Victor shook his head.

“You need to get your prescription checked, Yuuri. I’m the one lucky enough to be talking to the most beautiful man alive.”

Hiding lower in the water, Yuuri tried to think of a way to defuse the conversation – he wasn’t… comfortable with compliments. Not such direct ones, and definitely not ones that weren’t even true.

“Really? You should introduce me to him sometime.” He tried – it wasn’t very funny, but sadly his brain didn’t come up with anything more creative.

Victor’s only response was a squint – clearly, the man wasn’t impressed either, and was about to argue back.

It didn’t get to that though – as if on cue, a loud banging noise on Victor’s end made them both jump a little.

Someone was yelling – they sounded quite angry, not that he could understand the rapid-fire Russian. Victor wrinkled his nose before turning away from the screen and responding.

They exchanged a few fast sentences before Victor turned back, his face apologetic.

“I have to go, Yuuri. Yakov wants me on the ice.” “O-Of course, I understand. Good luck with training today.” The Russian snickered.

“Oh, I’ll need it. The joke will be on Yakov when I spend the next ten minutes skating in wobbly circles.”

It took him until a good two minutes after the call ended to figure out what in the world Victor had been talking about, and SIGNIFICANTLY longer to stop blushing like a teenager.


	52. Chapter 52

Going back to skating felt… surreal. Not only did Yuuri now have a lot more feedback than he did before – Mari and Minako were great but they weren’t skaters. Victor WAS and the man was so consistently insistent on Yuuri sending him footage of his skating, that he caved pretty quickly… and regretted it instantly.

Victor was direct in his criticism, and much blunter than Yuuri preferred.

His ‘coaching’ advice? Well, it wasn’t very motivating, unfortunately. He did his best to take into account the comments Victor made, but they could be discouraging as well. ‘Not like that’ wasn’t very helpful when he didn’t know what he was supposed to do instead.

It could be helpful of course – his jumps and spins improved significantly the more Victor nagged at him. Occasionally, Victor sent him videos as well, and asked for feedback – Yuuri was far too much of a fan to properly criticise Victor though. He felt like a complete fraud every time he so much as suggested Victor could improve… even though, to his surprise, they both agreed that when it came to certain steps, Yuuri was actually… better.

It wasn’t really the videos that ended up having the biggest impact on Yuuri though – it was the photos. Victor wasted no time after their initial video chat to start sending him pictures. At first, they were innocent enough, selfies of Victor with Makka and without… then those morphed to shirtless selfies, then selfies in bed… then more and more suggestive pictures.

Never anything inappropriate or as crass as a proper dick pic or anything of the sort, but some of the pictures certainly had him sweating bullets.

He responded as best he could – his favourite photos to send had been ones of himself in Minako’s dance studio. They weren’t as explicit as Victor’s, but they were what he was comfortable with. Victor certainly never minded – his reactions were always beyond enthusiastic.

Still, there was a line that Victor didn’t cross – while in certain photos, his appreciation of Yuuri’s pictures had been… visible through a blanket or trousers, that was as direct as things had gotten.

Yuuri wasn’t entirely sure if there was a reason for that – he thought Victor might be holding back out of consideration… but he also didn’t want to be the one to ask about it.

That left him with one choice only – crossing that line first.

He’d spent a few days thinking about it, about whether he should, whether he wanted to. Whether… Victor wanted to.

He did consider the possibility of Victor not being that interested in more – after all, it was only texting, and they’d both agreed, fairly frequently, that in-person they DID want more. It wasn’t outrageous to think that Victor wanted to not cross certain lines until they could meet and… explore things in person.

As it was though, Yuuri was… horny.

That was why he found himself doing something unusual – he headed to the lone gym in Hasetsu, paid an outrageous price for access to the pool and set up by the edge of it. He dove into the water once, just to get himself wet, and then stretched out on his towel.

He’d deliberately chosen a time of day where he’d be alone, and the small gym didn’t bother with security cameras – it was perfect.

Heart pounding, he allowed himself to think about some of his favourite pictures of Victor. It barely took him any time at all to… respond. Wet as he was, he knew that his reaction was quite… visible.

He snapped several photos – first one of his face, hair wet and brushed back. He texted it to Victor, unsurprised when a response was almost immediate.

Victor: <3 <3 <3

Victor: More?

Yuuri took a deep breath and snapped the next photo – of his chest, the edge of his trunks only barely visible in the image. He texted the photo to Victor.

Victor: Wow.

Victor: Are you at the pool?

Yuuri: Yup. Do you want another one?

Victor: You’re beautiful <3

Victor: yes please!

Heart beating even faster, he lowered his camera further and pressed his hand down an inch or so from his rather prominent… interest in Victor. He didn’t bother pretending that the picture was about anything else, just barely included anything else of himself. He snapped the picture and sent it before he could think better of it… only to instantly throw his phone at his bag and dive back into the water.

Sadly, the embarrassment he felt at what he’d just done didn’t abate underwater either. He stayed almost until he ran out of breath – it was a distant ringing sound that drew him back up sooner. He couldn’t make out its source until he came up, but then it was easy enough to place – his ringtone. Not just any sound, but the one assigned to Victor.

Wincing in half-shame and half-excitement, he climbed out of the pool again and quickly dried his hand enough to be able to use the touchscreen. He picked up the call – of course he did.

“Yuuuuuuriiiii!” The Russian skater’s greeting was more moan than an actual call of his name. Yuuri shivered in response, his heart still racing. “Victor?” He managed to squeak out, all the while gathering his things and high tailing it back to the changing rooms.

“Yuuri, that was cruel! How can you send me that out of nowhere?” “Did-did you not like it?” The growl that sounded in response to his words reassured him that that was not the case.

“Zvezda Moya, you know better than to ask that. I’m lucky I have today off – otherwise, I’d have had to excuse myself from the rink and I do that far too often already.”

Yuuri flushed, face pressed into a towel even though he was alone.

“So… you liked it.”

“Yes.”

“You… you’ve never sent me anything like it?” Yuuri was a little surprised when a soft sigh was the response he got. “Yuuri… My Yuuri, I know I haven’t been that… explicit in showing my appreciation, but surely you don’t doubt that I… want you?”

No, no he really didn’t.

“No? I just… I wasn’t sure why you never…?”

He could hear fabric rustling at the other end of the call. Bedding? No, imagining Victor in bed was the last thing he needed at the moment.

“You’re right. I’ve wanted to, but I didn’t want to… well, you still sometimes seem intimidated by who I am. I didn’t want to overwhelm you. Or make you think that I’m only interested in you because of sex. I also… well, I wasn’t entirely sure we were at that stage yet?”

“Stage?” “Yuuri… I know it’s mostly my fault but we had to take a lot of hurdles to get to where we are now, and I didn’t… I wanted to make sure that we are both secure in where we stand before we cross a line we can’t come back from.”

Yuuri’s heart nearly skipped a beat. He knew, without a doubt, that despite Victor’s careful phrasing, the man was worried that Yuuri wasn’t there yet.

Fat chance.

“Cross the line. Cartwheel over it.” He responded, his voice tense. “Yuuri…”

“No, I’m sure. I mean, I wanted you when we met. If I’d stayed at your place longer… this is just texting. And pictures.”

“There is nothing ‘just’ about that last photo, Yuuri. I’m probably going to have a poster printed of that, to be honest. Might hang it above my bed.” “No!” Victor snickered at his outraged tone.

“Well, you can’t stop me, can you?” Glaring at his towel, Yuuri thought of how to reply. The idea felt brilliant when it came to him.

“Yes, yes I can.” “Oh?” “If I find out you print that, I just won’t send any more.”

“Yuuuuuuuri!” Victor whined, but they both knew he’d won that one.

“Fine then, but you’ll have to send me lots more to make up for it. You can’t just leave me… like this.”

“If I was with you, I certainly wouldn’t.” He blurted out, pleased when Victor’s response was a rather wanton moan. “Oh, you wouldn’t, would you? What would you do then, if you were here right now?”

Yuuri suddenly felt quite out of his depth – this wasn’t something he was used to. “I’d… shower?” He half-asked, cringing a bit when the other man chuckled. “Oh?” “Well, I’ve just been in the pool, so I’d ask to borrow your shower to properly wash myself off.”

“Ohhhh I could watch, right?” Gulping at the idea, Yuuri nodded to himself. “You could… join me? In the shower. Saving water and all that.” Victor chuckled again.

“Mhhh you don’t know what that idea is doing to me right now…” The Russian eventually moaned into his phone.

“N-No, I don’t. Why don’t you… tell me?”

“Mh, I could do that. Or I could show you? A video call?” Yuuri almost agreed until he remembered that he was in a public changing room, a good fifteen minutes from his house, and that was if he sprinted the whole way. With how he was tenting his pants, an awkward hobble was probably his maximum speed at the moment.

“I-I can’t right now. But… why not send me photos? You could… if you can wait until I’m home, we could video call.”

Victor purred in response. “That’s quite the challenge, Yuuri! I wonder if I can last that long what with that photo, and imagining you dripping wet and in my shower…” With a sigh and another moan, Victor asked him to hurry, then ended the call.

Yuuri had never gotten dressed faster. His jeans thankfully hid his… problem, and so he was on his way home in no time at all. Well, not true exactly, but he was pretty close to ‘no time at all’. It took him exactly thirteen minutes until his bedroom door slammed shut behind him and he yanked out his phone again.

He had eleven missed texts – nine of them were photos.

Awkwardly undoing his jeans with one hand, he fell into bed, opening the first of the photos as he laid down.

Oh god.


	53. Chapter 53

Victor’s first photo was one that had mirrored Yuuri’s last, except the man was wearing what ought to be illegally tiny black pants rather than swimming trunks, and there was absolutely nothing discreet about the way he tented them.

They didn’t even fully cover him, really. Yuuri whimpered, hand already wrapped around himself.

The next picture was nearly identical except Victor’s hand had slid under those pants, likely stretching them to their limit. Shivering as he palmed himself, Yuuri looked at the next picture – it was quite different. It was a shaky selfie of Victor, partly on all fours, partly collapsed. One hand was still clearly working himself, but it was Victor’s face that really captivated him – barely masked frustration and arousal made for a stunning sight.

The next photo wasn’t much better – it was almost the same, except now Victor was biting down on his pillow.

Yuuri desperately wished that pictures had sound because he would have killed a man to hear what Victor was trying to muffle.

The fifth picture was one of Victor on his back, this time biting down on his knuckles. He could just make out Victor’s hand on himself in the picture – he wasn’t sure if it was deliberate teasing or just an accident, but it was enough to make Yuuri stop for a moment. He switched to the next photo only to whimper in surprise – he had been pretty sure that Victor couldn’t possibly send a more appealing photo, but he’d been wrong. Very, very wrong.

The image was of Victor kneeling up, leaning over the phone, his arousal clearly visible – as was the barely masked frustration on his face.

The next image was almost the same if a little clearer – it seemed the man had made more of an effort to stay still this time.

Yuuri swiped along, knowing full well that the longer he watched the faster he’d be done… and he didn’t want to disappoint Victor.

As it turned out, he needn’t have worried. The next photo was of Victor’s hand, the pearly liquid coating his fingers unmistakable. He checked the timestamp – two minutes before Yuuri had come home. Damn.

He quickly swiped to the next picture and nearly had a stroke.

This one also featured Victor’s cum-coated fingers, except… except he was licking some off the palm of his hand.

It would have been gross on anyone else, but Yuuri was pretty sure it was the hottest thing he’d ever witnessed.

Closing the photo, he looked at the two texts.

Victor: I’m sorry Yuuri. I couldn’t quite last that long after all.

Victor: I hope these maybe make up for it? We can still call if you’d like?

He hesitated over the call button – he knew he wouldn’t last long, and he rather Victor’s first impression of his stamina was… better.

So, he instead tapped the pictures again, his other hand speeding up consistently. He wasn’t sure which one he liked best, but the one that pushed him over the edge was the last one – he imagined, just for a moment, that it was his essence, not Victor’s, that the man was licking off… and just like that, he was gone.

He spilled into his hand with a quiet moan, muffled by his pillow. It felt longer, and almost more intense than he was used to – when his body finally relaxed, he all but collapsed onto the bed.

Realising he’d also fallen onto his phone, Yuuri rolled away from it, only to freeze in shock at an unexpected sound.

“Yuuri?”

“V-Victor?” He breathed, heart nearly hammering out of his chest. He’d accidentally pressed call.

“Hm, did you expect to call someone else? You’ve kept me waiting…” Stammering, Yuuri desperately wished for something semi-sensible to say.

“W-Wait!” He eventually blurted and ended the call. Trembling, he fumbled with his phone until he got the camera open and managed to snap a photo of his own hand, similarly coated to Victor’s.

He certainly didn’t have the guts to take the kind of photo Victor had taken of himself licking it – especially since he didn’t want to taste it – but he hoped the other man wouldn’t mind either way.

Photo sent, he called again. Victor was chuckling when he picked up.

“Ohh, it seems you enjoyed my pictures?” “O-Of course I did. Sorry I couldn’t get home sooner.”

“Mh, I’m sorry I couldn’t… last. Your picture was very… interesting.” “W-What about the second one?” Victor cleared his throat. “I haven’t opened it yet.” “Oh? Y-You don’t have to. If you don’t want to.”

“No, I want to. I will. Innnnn about twenty minutes.” Yuuri blinked twice, trying to figure it out. When he did, he was quite glad that Victor couldn’t see him, because he was fairly certain that he was blushing scarlet.

Unsure what to say, Yuuri just fell silent. He wasn’t sure if the silence between them counted as uncomfortably or not, but the longer it stretched, the more, well, tired Yuuri got. It was only the afternoon, but when he found himself yawning the second time, he decided he was probably due for a nap… and a quick shower and change of clothes.


	54. Chapter 54

Victor was all too happy to agree and keen to get a little more rest as well – the time difference between them was really wearing them both out – waking up when one of them had to go to sleep, calling in between training sessions… it was problematic.

Neither of them explicitly said it, but the closer World’s drew, the more emotionally exhausting it got. Things were going well – great even. Yuuri had lost a lot of his remaining shyness, and with Victor no longer holding back, their exchanges had become a lot more… direct.

Photos were involved, and after much coaxing, video calls as well. It was satisfying, in a way, but more than anything it drove home how far apart they were. Yuuri would much rather wake up with a face full of hair than with his cheek stuck to the phone for the third time that week.

At the very least, his skating had improved. He had a new source of motivation… and training took his mind off of just how lonely he was.

There was something else that also bugged him – Victor had made no comment on plans to see him. He knew – and even his anxiety couldn’t change his mind – that Victor wanted to, and was planning on meeting him again… but the Russian hadn’t made any explicit plans yet.

Yuuri had checked and re-checked his savings – he simply didn’t have the funds to take a trip to Russia on his own accord.

It was frustrating, yet he also didn’t want to appear overly needy by asking the Russian to come. He was about 85% certain that that was a dumb concern to have, but… but he wasn’t 100% sure, and so he kept quiet.

Victor seemed, well, oblivious to his worries. That wasn’t that unusual – the man had a track record of missing things not directly in front of him, and that included other people’s feelings. It didn’t help that Yuuri made no effort to share how he felt either… but that was too close to self-reflection for his liking.

So, they muddled along as it was.

Yuuri had never been happier.

Victor was wonderful. He complemented Yuuri in ways he hadn’t known he needed. The man was bright and colourful where Yuuri was quiet, could fill silences when Yuuri didn’t know what to say, and even if they just sat around on a call without saying anything, it felt nice.

He hadn’t realised that being alone together was a thing, nor how much he enjoyed it.

In short – the only way Victor Nikiforov could be any more perfect was if he was actually, physically present in Yuuri’s life – and his bed. Yuuri was honest enough to admit that was pretty high up on the list of places he wanted the other man.

They’d gotten pretty open about sharing pictures of each other after Yuuri had broken the proverbial ice.

It wasn’t enough, but… but it was better than nothing.

They’d also learned each other’s schedule perfectly well. Yuuri knew, without needing to ask or check, at what time of what day of the week he could text Victor, and when the man had training. Not that Victor minded him texting during training, but Yuuri wasn’t about to distract his idol.

He never took his phone to the ice, much to Victor’s disappointment – well, unless he used it to film a sequence and then send it over.

It worked… well. For weeks, months even, it went spectacular – right up until the tiniest of incidents snowballed into one of the worst times of Yuuri’s entire life. It was mundane enough, if a little annoying – waiting at the train station for a train to an ice show, someone bumped into him and stole his wallet and phone. Hardly that dramatic – Yuuri made his way to a station employee and called home, letting his family know what had happened. They were understanding enough.

Since it was night-time in Russia, he didn’t bother calling Victor. There was no need to bother the man, or so he thought.

As it turned out, making that one call would have made all the difference… but by the time Yuuri figured THAT out, it was much, much too late.


	55. Chapter 55

Yuuri got home broke, tired and annoyed – also, late. It had taken some time to explain that his ticket had been in his stolen wallet, and an overzealous station worker had insisted on checking the security footage showing Yuuri buying the ticket and then being pickpocketed right on the platform before he was allowed to take a train home.

After a quick bath, he fell straight into bed, several alarms set to wake him in time for the first shop to open so he could buy a new phone and update Victor on his little odyssey.

Things didn’t go according to plan.

For once in his life, Yuuri was awake before his alarms went off – not because he woke up naturally though, but rather because his sister slammed open his door without so much as a single nod, only to basically jump him in bed. He shot up from pure shock, and by the time his eyes focused on the screen of the phone she thrust in his face, he’d already frozen in shock.

It was a news article… about Victor Nikiforov. Yuuri felt his blood run cold as he quickly skimmed the headline and blurb.

At some point through the night, images of the man had appeared on the net.

There were some of the tamer images in the article, but Yuuri didn’t need to look too closely, because he knew what he’d see – images that Victor had sent him.

Him, Yuuri Katsuki and nobody else.

Those pictures, the ones that had been on his phone were now… on the Internet.

Yuuri was distantly aware that his sister was saying something, quite insistently, actually, but it didn’t really register.

He felt like a puppet with its strings cut – whoever stole his phone had to have guessed the password, or otherwise cracked it… and they’d uploaded the pictures. All of them, the article said.

Yuuri felt faint as he put on clothes and followed his sister downstairs. His father wasted no time in driving him to an electronics store nearby – it was hours before they opened, but the owner frequented the onsen, and really, why hadn’t Yuuri thought about asking for a favour?

He held the box of his brand new phone, sim card included and all, in his hand not half an hour after he woke up, but nothing felt real.

It took him several attempts to even get into the box, and ultimately, his sister took it from him and set up the basics for him. His family hadn’t asked any questions – thankfully – but Yuuri was fairly certain that they were well aware of what had happened… what had to have happened.

By the time Yuuri was sitting in his bed again, functioning phone with the messaging app open, he was openly crying in shame, pain, and anger. He had been upset at losing his phone, of course, but that was nothing compared to what he felt then and there.

He typed in Victor’s number from memory and pressed call – what had happened deserved more than a text.

Call declined.

Yuuri shivered, tried again.

Declined.

Declined.

Declined again.

He had no idea how many times he tried, each time the call was declined.

Every time it happened, another sob tore its way from his throat, until, one after the other, his entire family had shown up to check on him out of concern.

All Yuuri could see was the phone screen though, all he could hear the infernal beeps of his call not going through.

By the time his battery died, he was all but certain that Victor hated him, and wanted nothing to do with him.

While his phone was charging, he went downstairs in search of food, not that he felt like eating. The more he thought about it, the worse it got, really. Despite the sick feeling in his stomach, he’d forced himself to look at the article in some more detail, and… well, it wasn’t good.

Along with Victor’s uncensored photos, some snapshots of their conversations had been released, along with some of Victor’s contact information. That had been taken down quickly enough, according to the article but Yuuri knew better than to think that that meant nobody had it.

He also realised how it had to look from Victor’s perspective. Only Victor’s pictures had been leaked – none of Yuuri. He never kept the pictures he sent himself, always embarrassed to see himself afterward. Their chats didn’t normally have nametags visible, so for all intents and purposes, there was nothing particularly identifying Yuuri as a participant. The phone thief probably wouldn’t have cared either way – Yuuri wasn’t famous.

Victor was.

Victor… who now probably hated Yuuri – though definitely not as much as Yuuri hated himself for not… not being more careful, more attentive, not keeping a more secure phone and so on and so forth.

There was a lot he could and should have done differently and now… now it was too late. Not that Yuuri was going to give up, of course. He spent the rest of the day – and several battery charges of his phone – trying to call, to no avail.


	56. Chapter 56

The next day didn’t go much better either – hundreds of failed calls. Yuuri did manage to pull himself together just enough to actually speak to others – or to be more accurate, his sister. His parents… well, they’d gone out of their way to not acknowledge what was happening and that only made it more obvious.

His sister’s usual brand of ambivalence masking genuine care suited him much better. He managed to go almost a full five minutes without either bursting into tears… or thinking about it.

Still, his calls wouldn’t go through. The next day, Mari offered her phone, and Yuuri tried from her number – to the same effect. Yuuri was slowly going from heartbroken to numb – he didn’t think he’d ever felt quite so…upset, and he couldn’t maintain it for long, not at all.

By the third day, and through no small part due to Mari’s disapproving looks, he found himself at the rink, staring at his skates.

They looked… foreign.

They felt it too when he put them on and stepped on the ice.

He half-expected to fall, to slide on the ice like Bambi, but his body reacted like it always did on the ice – he fell in step as easily as he took his every breath. Skating helped, usually – it cleared his mind. He could leave his problems in the changing rooms and just focus on one thing for a while… needless to say, it didn’t work this time. Much as he could skate in a straight line, that was about it. Over a decade of skating training was for nothing – anything even resembling a jump failed completely.

Just as well – Yuuri felt like he deserved to fail.

He’d messed up the one thing that he’d always aimed for in life – well, more or less. He’d certainly caught up to Victor, if not quite the way he’d intended to. And now… he’d ruined it. Ruined the one chance he’d had… and he couldn’t so much as apologise.

For once, he’d taken his phone with him onto the ice, so he pulled it out and fumbled his way through the menus to call.

Declined.

Of course.

Squashing the desire to either call again or chuck his phone across the rink, he tried his hand at a few more jumps – nothing.

By the time he gave up, he was well covered in bruises and knew that everything in his body would hurt the next morning.

He was not wrong.

He looked so beaten up, actually, that his father outright banned him from the baths, saying he looked like a delinquent who’d lost his last fight.

That ruled out pretty much the only relaxing activity other than skating he could think to do… and it meant no reprieve from the unquenchable urge to try calling, over and over, no matter how many times it failed.

Even sleep didn’t work – he slept fitfully at best and relied on naps in between meals to get by.

The world at large didn’t seem inclined to give him a break either. His friend, Yuuko, who followed skating news religiously, updated him on all things Victor… things like how following the scandal he’d cancelled some events he was scheduled to appear at, as well as all non-competitive events.

Yuuri knew that Victor hadn’t been that keen on those in the first place, but that still didn’t change the fact that they were cancelled… cancelled because Yuuri was an awful boyfriend and an even worse person.

It was nine days and seven hours, give or take a few minutes after Yuuri saw that first news article that something… gave.

Waking up in the middle of the night, he’d rolled over and pressed the call button on Victor’s contact. It took him a good three seconds to realise that he wasn’t hearing the annoying dial tone that came from declined calls. No… the call connected. Before he could even take a breath though, before his brain had processed what was happening, a voice had already sounded on the other end of the line. It wasn’t Victor though – nor was it someone that sounded even remotely like him.

The voice was older – old, even.

“Give it up already. You’ve done enough damage. Stop being a nuisance.” That was all the heavily accented Russian said before the call cut off.

Yuuri’s phone slid from his suddenly weak fingers. He didn’t know with certainty who it had been… but if he had to wager a guess, he thought it rather sounded like Victor’s coach.

He… didn’t even deserve to talk to Victor personally?

Well, after what was possibly thousands of calls… he really couldn’t blame either of them. Not Victor for not wanting to talk to him, and not the coach for being so… direct.

Yuuri cried his eyes out anyway.

The only good thing – and he was really reaching with that terminology – was that after the call… he could sleep. For the first time in over a week, he fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

He slept for nearly ten hours and woke up… well, feeling like he slept, at least.

Not feeling good, not even okay but less… awful.

His saving grace turned out to be Minako. His dancing teacher had been absent for a while, busy with her classes and entirely unaware of what had happened, but once she DID find out, she descended on the onsen like a very angry, drunk goddess.

Yuuri found himself dragged to her studio by the hood of his, well, hoodie, and unceremoniously tossed into the practice room. He didn’t feel like dancing, but he felt like pissing off Minako even less… so he gave in and followed her demands.

It turned out to feel… good.

Skating hadn’t, but dancing did. He wasn’t sure if it was because it had nothing to do with Victor or if it was because Minako was hyper-critical and gave him no chance to relax at all, but… his head was empty as he moved and he’d needed that.

For a few days, the unspoken agreement that he’d train most of the day at the studio worked for them both, then the real world came knocking – Yuuri had an ice show and he had COMPLETELY forgotten.

It was too late to cancel, but he also hadn’t practiced or trained in ages – he was doomed to fail from the beginning. Minako drove him to the rink in Fukuoka, cheered him on as much as she could but there was no hiding that he was still a bit out of shape and not at all in the right sate to do the show.


	57. Chapter 57

It was a small mercy that he didn’t fall. The low difficulty of the show’s program should have made his performance a breeze. As it was, he had to actually try to do well. If the show had called for anything more than doubles, Yuuri would have humiliated himself. As it was, he felt embarrassed by his performance but… well, nobody complained.

He went home disappointed anyway – at least this time he knew in intimate detail why he’d failed so badly.

Not that it helped.

Still, it was what he had to work with – mediocrity and almost failure was something he knew well enough.

Muddling along like that for a few more days, a week even, was… no big deal, really. It felt like time passed at a fraction of its normal pace like everything was only just crawling along – he had a good idea why.

It was almost March – World’s was only a few days away. He tried to pretend he didn’t know the exact date and both local and Japan time it started but he’d spent so much time anticipating it… well, at least he knew when to avoid any and all TVs.

He’d anticipated seeing Victor perform of course, but he knew without a doubt that if he watched, he’d never recover, that the semi-functional state he was in would crumble like sand.

So, he went with one of his favourite approaches – keeping his head down, avoiding all unnecessary human contact and focusing on training. It wasn’t going as well as it could but it WAS getting better.

He thought so, anyway.

Then, something else rather unexpected happened. On his day off – less than 48 hours before World’s, but who was counting – it snowed. Snow itself wasn’t that unusual, but snow in March certainly was, which was why it left the onsen woefully unprepared. Yuuri had found himself unceremoniously woken up at the crack of dawn by his father, bundled in a coat and a snow shovel in his hands.

His eyes were still blurry behind his glasses when he was already shovelling out a path from the house to the entrance. At least the exertion from it would allow him to skip a working out session – he knew from experience that shovelling the thick, heavy snow would work his muscles well enough.

The quiet of the crisp morning air actually felt good after not enough sleep. Slowly waking up properly, he set about carefully getting rid of as much as possible. They had a lot of physically weak and older customers – it wouldn’t do for one of them to slip.

Vicchan was ‘helping’ the way dogs often did – by playing and rolling in the snow, and otherwise making a nuisance of himself. It cheered Yuuri up immensely, of course, and he actually found himself laughing – a preciously rare occurrence, all in all.

Then, quite unexpectedly, the little dog perked up and fixed his attention on something by the gate. Yuuri wasn’t worried – it was probably just a cat or squirrel and Vicchan knew better than to chase those.

At least he thought so – right until the little dog took off at a dead sprint, heading straight for the gate, and thus the road.

Yuuri threw down his shovel and ran after him as quickly as the snow and his thick coat allowed it.

To his never-ending relief, Vicchan didn’t head into the road – no, his target was inside the gate. Yuuri’s eyes followed his dog as he ran up to the person standing there, immediately leaping up their legs, unable to get much higher than the man’s knees.

It would have been cute, had it not been for the owner of those knees. Yuuri felt his gut clench in what could only be described as fear as he took in the unexpected visitor.

There, staring at him in obvious anger, and looking more beautiful than Yuuri had ever seen him, stood Victor Nikiforov, right by a large pure white suitcase.

Yuuri did the only thing he could – he spun on his heel and took off for the house in a dead sprint, eager to escape what was clearly some sort of snow-illusion or hallucination.

He didn’t get far.

Less than two steps, actually, before his foot caught on his shovel and he found himself falling, face-first into a pile of snow. The sense of familiarity in him warred with the mortification and outright fear he felt when, moments later, a hand settled on his shoulder.

It felt warm – he knew he was probably imagining it, through the clothes and all, but he couldn’t help it… nor his reaction.

Shaking off the hand, he pushed up, gasping, and half-crawled half-ran on. He was still mostly blind from the snow when he stumbled in the door and felt his way to the stairs and up to his room, ignoring his mother’s surprised questions about what had happened.

He slammed the door shut behind himself and all but dove out of his snowy wet clothes, straight under his blanket, pulled over his head. The heavy fabric muffled sounds quite well… not that there were many.

Birds were singing outside, zero consideration for either the snow or his emotional turmoil, and twice someone knocked on his door – his mother, going by the voice. It was too faint for him to make it out, but he recognised it anyway.

It only made him pull the blanket around himself tighter – what in the world was going on?

Why would Victor be in Hasetsu? After what had happened? He’d made it clear he wanted nothing to do with Yuuri.

Abundantly clear.

Why was he HERE?

To take revenge? No, that didn’t seem much like Victor’s style – and he wouldn’t have waited so long.

So long…

Yuuri frowned – he was forgetting something, he knew it.

When it hit him, the realisation felt colder than the snow on his face had. World’s. World’s was less than two days away, and it was happening in TAIWAN.

Taiwan – not Japan.

That was a three-hour trip, minimum.

There was absolutely no reason for Victor to be anywhere other than either in Russia or in Taiwan. Even if there was a reason for him to be elsewhere, elsewhere STILL WASN’T HASETSU, JAPAN.

He shouldn’t be there.

Yuuri had wanted him to be there for years, but not like that, and certainly not with that timing.

Yuuri had, inadvertently, hurt Victor. Victor didn’t want to be around him, so why had he come?

Yuuri wasn’t even surprised when fat tears rolled down his cheeks mere moments later – thinking about Victor did that to him these days.


	58. Chapter 58

Yuuri skipped all meals that day, didn’t come out of his room at all until night-time. He barely felt hungry, nor was he up to seeing people – at all. By the time the sun had set, he was at least tired enough to sleep.

Of course, tired enough to sleep wasn’t enough to last the night. Around four in the morning, he found himself… wide awake.

Also, hungry.

In his pajamas, he quietly walked down the stairs, unsurprised to find the place deserted.

He hadn’t snuck into the kitchen for food since he’d been a kid, stress-eating before exams.

The thought made him smile, ever so slightly – there had been a footstool he’d used to reach the top shelf of the huge fridge his mother kept in the kitchen.

Opening it now, the cold light made him shiver.

Snatching a plate with a few rice balls on it as well as a small cup of strawberries, he headed back towards the stairs… only to hesitate for a few moments. His parents had strict rules on bathing at night.

Still, it was guaranteed to be empty…

Sighing, he carried his bounty with him to the changing rooms and stripped out of his clothes.

He placed the plate and cup in one of the little floating baskets the onsen offered to guests for their toiletries and headed out to the outdoor bath. It felt eerie in the silence, the air cold from the snow, even close to the hot water.

He slipped into the water with a sigh, food in hand.

Sitting in his favourite spot in the shallow pool, he set about unwrapping the rice balls.

His parents wouldn’t be pleased at all to find that he’d brought food into the bath.

He took the first bite, then another.

Four rice balls and a cup of strawberries later, he felt quite a bit better. He’d been more hungry than he’d realised, and the hot water had relaxed him a fair bit.

When his fingers started to turn wrinkly from the water, he decided to go back to bed.

Careful to eliminate any proof that he’d even been there, he put the basket back, put the plates in the sink and headed straight for the stairs up.

A small groan alerted him to the fact that he… wasn’t alone.

Frozen mid-step, he turned his head and squinted into the darkness of the common area.

It was faint, but he could just make out the outline of… a futon?

Blinking in confusion, he took a step closer and froze yet again – he didn’t need to get closer to know what he was looking at.

Victor’s silver hair was visible even in the dark.

The man was moving a fair bit… almost as if he was having some form of nightmare?

Yuuri quenched the sudden urge to comfort him – it wasn’t his place.

More importantly, it also wasn’t Victor’s.

Why was the man sleeping on a futon in the common area? Yuuri knew they were a bit low on available rooms, what with the banquet hall being booked by a local pensioner group, but still…

He had no reason to be there at all.

Yuuri wanted to wake the man, wanted to ask for an explanation… but no, he didn’t even deserve to look at Victor now.

Quickly, and not that quietly, he ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time and dove right back into bed.

His wildly beating heart wouldn’t quiet until well after the sun was visible through his window, and neither would his mind.

Why was Victor Nikiforov in his home?

Yuuri closed his eyes, not that it helped him fall asleep.

The most he managed was to doze – right until someone knocked on his door. It was too forceful to be his mother, too rapid for his father.

That left… Mari.

Tired and a little out of it, he stumbled to the door and pulled it open – Mari wouldn’t accept him ignoring her.

It wasn’t Mari.


	59. Chapter 59

A very angry-looking Victor Nikiforov stood in front of his door, looking absolutely spectacular.

His long hair was tied in a ponytail draped over his shoulder, and frankly, he looked significantly better than he had any right to, given that he was wearing a pink t-shirt and grey sweatpants.

Yuuri himself realised he looked ridiculous – the buttons to his pajama top were partially undone, his hair was a fluffed-up mess, and his pajama bottoms were sagging a little more than what could be considered casual.

Gulping, he also realised that Victor was between him and the only way out – the door.

Well, unless he planned on jumping out of the window, but Yuuri wasn’t quite that desperate.

Probably.

Gulping, he took a step back into his room.

Victor matched him, taking a step inside. He was smiling, but… it wasn’t exactly a kind or comforting smile.

Looming over Yuuri as he was, it just seemed… menacing. Yuuri stepped back again. This time, Victor didn’t follow him. Instead, he sighed.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” Yuuri flinched at his words – he sounded… well, like himself. Exactly like he always did, but it had been a while since he’d hear the other man speak.

“I… yes? I thought it’s what you wanted?” Yuuri replied, well aware of how lame he sounded.

“You thought… okay. Why did you think that?”

Yuuri blinked in confusion. “Be-because I tried to call? Hundreds of times? You never took my calls. And… and… well, after what happened… why WOULD you want to see me? Unless… are you here for an apology?”

Going by how his expression darkened Victor was, in fact, not here for that. “Is that what you thought?” Balling his hands into fists at the painful memory, Yuuri shrugged. “What else was I supposed to think? I tried so hard to contact you, for ages… and when finally I thought you’d take my call, it was someone else, telling me to stop being a nuisance.”

Groaning Victor rubbed a hand over his face. “That must have been Yakov. As soon as… well, once the pictures hit the net, he confiscated my phone and laptop. Lots of strangers were trying to call me and bother me. He let me have it long enough to try and call you once but the person who picked up was someone else… I didn’t know what was going on.”

“M-My phone was stolen. At the train station on my way back. I was going to get a new one the next morning but by then…”

“By then the thief had posted everything.” Victor correctly guessed. Yuuri nodded his agreement.

“Oh this is all such a MESS!” Victor moaned a moment later.

“It-it doesn’t have to be. We can just… forget that we ever met? It’d probably be better that way.” The words felt like they were scratching his throat as Yuuri trained his eyes on Victor’s bare feet on his floor.

What they’d had was… enough. He would be okay on his own.

“Is that what you want?” Victor asked, his voice quite subdued.

“W-Well… it’s what would be best.” He desperately wanted to be able to lie, to be able to say that NO it wasn’t what he wanted, but… he didn’t have the right.

“I see. Unfortunately for you, it’s not what I want.” Victor declared before stepping closer again. Yuuri backed away, bumping into the windowsill of his window.

Jumping out of it seemed more appealing by the minute. It was only two floors – he’d live.

“T-Then what do you want?” He asked, watching Victor close the distance between them yet again. He had nowhere left to run.

“The same thing I’ve always wanted. The cute, awkward Japanese boy that has made my life worth living the past half-year or so.”

Yuuri gaped up at the Russian.

“You… what?”

“You heard me.” Victor crossed his arms.

“H-How could you possibly want me after what I did to you?” “And what did you do to me? Your phone was stolen.”

“But you didn’t know that! You must have thought I posted them myself!” Victor waved his words off with a huff.

“Of course I didn’t think that. You’d never do something like that.” “But! But none of mine were posted! There’s no way you didn’t think it was me!”

“I figured you probably deleted your own pictures after sending them. I do the same. So, if my phone was stolen, there would only be pictures of you and Makkachin on it. Also… I mean, I am pretty well-known. The odds of someone recognising me are much higher than with you. Why post nudes from some stranger when you can post them of a celebrity?”

Yuuri’s mind was racing at a hundred miles per hour. Was it… true? Did Victor really not blame him?

“M-My phone had a passcode, just so you know.” Yuuri blurted out next.

“Mh, I figured as much. Those are pretty easy to crack these days. Yuuri… I don’t blame you. I never did. I’m sorry I didn’t get in contact with you sooner, Yakov just wouldn’t let me.”

Yuuri dropped back fully against the windowsill, his legs suddenly quite weak.

“You… don’t hate me?”

“Oh, Yuuri… I could never hate you. What about you?”

“Hm?” His eyes shot up to meet Victor’s – surely the Russian hadn’t just asked if Yuuri hated him? Had hell frozen over when he wasn’t looking?

“Do you hate me? For not getting in contact, for not letting you know it was okay… for not coming to see you?”

Unable to even form words, Yuuri shook his head hard enough that his glasses actually started slipping down his nose.

“No! I could never hate you!” Slowly, he watched Victor’s menacing and distant demeanour melt into something more… familiar, something softer.

“But Victor, that still doesn’t explain why you’re here. Did your coach let you come?”

Victor grinned.

“Not quite. He had another competition to go to, so I offered to fly to Taipei on my own, so he could join me later. What he didn’t know was that I also booked a ticket for a flight to Fukuoka that left just a few minutes before the Taiwan one. So, he didn’t realise which one I was on until it was too late!”

“So… you… ran away? And came HERE?” His voice was a little shrill, but Yuuri couldn’t help it – that story was so… so… so Victor.

“Well, this is where you are. I had a plan. I was going to show up, greet you, you were going to apologise to me, we’d have a teary reunion and everything would be fine. Instead, you took off running as soon as you saw me.” Victor was frowning down at him and Yuuri shrank back under his expression.

“Well… at first, I wasn’t sure if you were real. Then I thought you probably definitely didn’t want to see me… and I didn’t know how to face you either. Why were you sleeping in the common area last night?”

Victor blushed a cute pink. “Ah… you saw me? I begged your parents to let me stay until we could sort this out. They said there wasn’t much space but offered me a futon. Of course I accepted.”

Vowing to thank his parents, Yuuri tried to process everything that was happening.

“I-I took a bath during the night. So I walked past that room and spotted you. I wasn’t… watching you sleep.”

Once again, Victor just waved him off. “I wouldn’t mind either way, but Yuuuuuri! Why did you run away from me for so long! You wasted precious hours… how long were you going to make me wait?”

“I… you… I don’t know?” It was the truth – he’d hardly had much of a plan, after all.

“Yes, well, I’m glad that this nonsense is over now. Things can go back to normal, right?” Victor asked.

Yuuri’s heart skipped a beat. “Can they really though? I mean, after the pictures, and us not talking…” Victor shot him a measured glance, before smiling, somewhat ironically. “The truth is, Yuuri, that… well, I didn’t realise it was you trying to contact me. It was an unknown number, and there were lots of unknown numbers. I told Yakov to block all the non-Japanese ones, but he must not have realised it was you… I was a bit hurt that you didn’t try to contact me. Why didn’t you send a text identifying your new number?”

Yuuri shrugged.

“I… didn’t think of it? I was so upset, so scared that you’d hate me. Also… I feel like what happened deserved more than a text?” “Yuuri… you thinking – or not thinking in this case – seems to cause problems more often than not, doesn’t it?”

He winced at the words – well, Victor was right.

“I’m sorry.”

“For?”

“Not texting? Not making a better effort to get in touch?”

“Ah, Yuuri… the truth is, it was a bit rough. It would have been good to have you to talk to during everything, but… well, it can’t be helped now.”

“D-Do you really want to… get back together with someone like me?”

“No. Not someone like you. You, specifically, Yuuri Katsuki. Though, there is one more thing I need first.”

“Anything!” He blurted out, 100% meaning it. There was nothing Victor could ask for or demand that he wouldn’t give him.


	60. Chapter 60

“I want an apology, and a good one.” The Russian declared as he crossed his arms once again.

Yuuri found himself in the traditional dogeza apology position seconds later – he’d certainly expected something more… difficult. Like, a demand for Yuuri to post his own nudes – not that Victor would ever ask for something like that.

Mind still racing, he stammered his way through as many apologies as he could think of – an apology for his carelessness, for not getting in touch before the pictures spread, for not doing a better job at contacting Victor, for hiding, for running, everything he could even remotely think of.

It took him a good few minutes until he ran out of steam and out of things to apologise for – at which point, he glanced up to gauge Victor’s reaction.

The man was… well, Yuuri actually had no idea what that expression was supposed to be.

“Okay, thank you Yuuri. That was a good start but… not really hat I had in mind.” “Uh… oh? What did you have in mind?”

Victor leaned down until their faces were only a few inches apart – Yuuri’s heart skipped a beat, the way it always did when he looked at Victor, really.

“Well, I mean, I ran away from my coach and crossed entire continents in order to come see you. I’d expect at least that much from you.”

“You… want me to go to Russia?”

Victor chuckled.

“No. Taipei would do.”

“You… want me to come to World’s?”

“That’s right. You’ve distracted me from training these past few days, so the least you can do is come with me and motivate me.”

Yuuri lowered his head again. “I’m sorry I distracted you from practicing. I never… I didn’t mean to affect your training.”

Victor sighed and kneeled down in front of Yuuri, bringing them at eye-height again. “Relax. You’ve affected my training the last few months, nothing I can’t handle. I just… I would really like it if you came to World’s with me.”

Yuuri took a deep breath before reaching out and covering Victor’s hand with his own. It was the first deliberate touch between them since Victor had arrived, and he felt like a weight lifted from him when Victor didn’t flinch or pull away.

“You know I’d go anywhere with you, right?”

The expression on Victor’s face was everything Yuuri ever wanted in life.

“Yuuuuuuri…”

A moment later, he found himself tackled, Victor wrapped around him almost completely. The other man had managed to land them mostly on Yuuri’s bed – anything else would have ended up with at least one of them in pain.

As it was, he wrapped his arms around Victor as tightly as the other was holding him and buried his face in the man’s hair. He hadn’t realised how much he’d needed that hug until he felt strong arms press him against the other man.

He couldn’t help the tears that freely ran down his cheeks, not when for the first time in days he felt relief from the emotional pain he’d been in.

When his tears finally dried, he still found himself not letting go of Victor – nor the other man of him.

He had no idea how long they stayed like that, but eventually, his arms grew a little tired.

“Victor?” “Mh?” “I’m sorry.” “You’ve apologised already.” “I know, but… I only apologised for what I did. I didn’t think about how you must have felt at all. I thought you were angry… I didn’t consider that you could be hurting too.”

Victor’s arms on him tightened even more.

“It’s okay. To be honest… I was a little angry. I considered it, for a moment, that you could have done it deliberately, and then I felt awful for suspecting you.”

“No, it’s okay. Anyone would have suspected me. I’m… sorry.”

“Mh, it’s okay. It’s all cleared up now.”

“So we can go back to how it was before?”

Yuuri paused for a moment before he answered, wanting to collect his thoughts.

“Maybe… maybe it can be better?” Victor chuckled, the sound rumbling in his chest. “I’d like that, my Yuuri. So… what’s better than before?”

“Closer? Being… closer?” He asked.

“Oh? Yuuri, I’m pretty sure we’d have to take our clothes off to get any closer than this.” Groaning in embarrassment, he curled in on himself a little.

“No, I meant… in general.”

“Mh, I know. We can start by going to Taipei together. Shall I buy us tickets?” “Ah, I can pay for my own. If it’s only Taiwan, I can afford it.”

A hand ran through his hair and lightly tilted his head so that he ended up looking at the Russian in his bed. “Ah, I’d rather you save your money and spend it on something else.”

“Such as?”

“Well, I can’t help but notice that you have over a dozen posters of me now?”

With a yelp, he pulled back and realised what should have been obvious from the start – that all of his Victor posters were visible on his walls. He didn’t REALLY have a reason to be embarrassed – he’d been to Victor’s room after all – but still.

“Don’t be embarrassed.” Victor soothed, his fingers playing at the base of Yuuri’s neck.

“I’m not…” He lied before snuggling back down.

Victor shifted around him, but since it ended with himself more firmly pressed against Victor’s chest, he hardly felt the need to complain.

Victor’s head was resting nicely on his scalp… it had been a while since Yuuri had felt so… safe.

When his eyes started to slip shut, he didn’t bother trying to stop it.


	61. Chapter 61

Yuuri was woken by… a mouthful of hair.

Silver hair, his eyes let him know once he blinked them open.

He was hit by a strange sense of both familiarity and shock – Victor. The Russian had turned around at some point, and Yuuri was now spooning him, his arms wrapped around his waist with relative ease.

There was a moment of deep panic before the events of the last day had really caught up with him. Victor had forgiven him. He’d never really been that mad in the first place. That meant… they were fine. They would be fine.

Yuuri tightened his hold on the other as much as he could and buried his face deeper into his back, even though the hair irritated him a fair bit.

It didn’t matter.

He had Victor in his arms, and he wasn’t about to let go.

If the purr that answered his action was anything to go by, Victor didn’t mind much.

“Good morning.” Yuuri greeted him. “Ohayouuu…” The Russian replied, his pronunciation possibly dreadful.

Yuuri smiled.

“Do you know what time it is?” “Let me check my phone… mh, five minutes to six. That’s great actually. Almost time to leave.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Mh, we both are. To Taipei, remember? It’s all arranged. A cab, the flights. Do you have to pack?” “I-uh-but… my parents? I have to tell them? Also, packing… and when did you even?”

Victor chuckled, before stretching in an entirely too pleasant way, as far as Yuuri was concerned, then the other turned in his arms.

“Mh, I did it on my phone when you fell asleep. Oh, and your parents already know. I told them when I got here that I planned to steal you away to a skating event. Do you have a suitcase? There’s not really space in mine.”

“I do?”

“Great! I’ll help you pack!”

And with that, Victor was gone from the bed and yanked open his wardrobe. Yuuri could only sit there in stunned silence while the Russian wreaked havoc on his admittedly humble clothes collection.

Eventually, something met his approval as he started throwing a few shirts and other things on Yuuri’s lap. He carelessly refolded them before grabbing one set of clothes and – after making sure Victor wasn’t about to turn, he quickly changed into it.

The pile on his bed grew, while Yuuri helplessly wondered how long he’d be gone exactly – World’s was a five-day event, in total, with the men’s skating lasting for three. Surely he didn’t need more than a few shirts, underwear and some socks?

Clearly, Victor disagreed.

Giving it up as a lost cause, Yuuri quietly snuck out of his room and down to the hallway closet, where he grabbed the same small suitcase he’d had on his trips to Russia and brought it up.

By the time he got back, the pile on the bed was roughly twice the size of said suitcase – even his bag of skates had found their way into the pile.

Even more surprising though, was the fact that Victor made it work. He hadn’t expected the man to be any good at folding or organising, yet, with the exception of Yuuri’s skates and jacket, everything fit into the little suitcase… well, once Yuuri leaned on it to get it closed, anyway.

His skates went into Victor’s suitcase, and within an hour, Yuuri found himself saying goodbye to his family and heading out of the onsen for the most spontaneous trip he’d ever gone on.

The cab ride was spent in silence, Victor busy on his phone, and Yuuri overwhelmed by… everything.

It wasn’t until they reached Fukuoka airport that Yuuri snapped out of it – mostly.

Victor didn’t speak Japanese, so the Russian naturally expected him to do the talking once he’d led them to the right airline’s check-in desk. That was fine – or it would have been fine, if it hadn’t been for the fact that Yuuri was well aware of the fact that a LOT of people were staring at them… and that he felt self-conscious speaking Japanese in front of the Russian.

A gentle hand on his lower back reassured him enough to talk to the flight attendant though, and not much later they found themselves walking to the security check.

Yuuri was more used to travelling with others than to do so alone, but having Victor by his side was in a different category altogether.

The constant eyes on them unnerved him – not that he wasn’t also one of the people staring. Victor was beautiful, and he looked strangely out of place among the almost exclusively Asian crowd.

The airport wasn’t that busy, what with it being quite late, but… but still! He couldn’t imagine what people had to think, seeing his ordinary self next to Victor. Of course, the Russian either WAS completely oblivious or was at least faking it as he all but dragged Yuuri through the relatively small airport.

They’d gotten there with quite little time before their flight – normally Yuuri liked to be at least two hours early, but Victor had left them just a bit over 30 minutes – not that that stopped him from window shopping in the duty-free area.

By the time they were on the plane, Yuuri was tired again – how in the world was Victor NOT?

He was content sitting quietly next to Victor while the other happily chatted with the flight attendant and ordered them drinks. With just over two hours of flight time, they hardly needed drinks, but he wasn’t going to tell the other no either.

So, he drank his juice when handed the can and listened to Victor chattering on about skating. He didn’t sound like someone who was about to skate in the biggest competition in the world… not that Yuuri knew what he was supposed to sound like.

He just enjoyed the soothing sound of Victor’s voice as he described his routine in every detail he could think of. Yuuri knew it of course – he had seen it multiple times and studied it in every detail, though watching videos wasn’t quite as good as hearing it from the man himself… and it wouldn’t live up to seeing it in person either.

The last time he’d seen him skate had been… before he’d learned his identity. This time, it would be different – would feel different. He was sure of it.


	62. Chapter 62

The two hours flight passed in no time at all. By the time they touched down in Taipei, it was quite late though – Yuuri was relieved when they got another cab to the hotel, rather than having to walk.  
Of course, his relief ended once he saw the hotel they were headed for – it was quite… opulent. Victor assured him that it was where most of the athletes were staying and that Yuuri could share his room, but that too turned out to be a little bit of a misdirection – Victor didn’t have a ‘room’ – he had a suite.

A suite… with one bed.

Not that they hadn’t slept together before, but there was something strangely… different about the white sheets on the huge bed as they entered the room. Yuuri felt shy, shyer than he had before.  
Victor seemed oblivious to it, inspecting the room for faults – not that Yuuri saw what faults it could possibly have. Even the view was spectacular.

Yuuri headed to the bathroom, not having had a chance, to, well, decompress after their whirlwind trip. He turned the tap of the sink on and just took a few deep breaths, staring into the mirror.  
He’d half expected an anxiety attack at some point, but for once it seemed that his mind was willing to leave him be. He was grateful enough for it, and decided he may as well wash his face since he was already in the bathroom.

Stripping out of his shirt, he leaned to the low sink and splashed cold water to his face a few times. It felt refreshing as the droplets rolled down his face and neck. One fluffy towel later, he reached for the doorknob of the bath to re-join Victor when a disconcerting noise made him freeze – the door to the suite banged open and someone stormed in.

Moments later, a familiar voice was yelling… in Russian. Yuuri recognised the man as the one who had picked up the phone when he’d tried to get in touch before.

Victor didn’t sound too fazed by the yelling though – he could hear the other man laughing in response to whatever was said.

And then, to his horror, someone – he didn’t know which of the two – knocked on the bathroom door.

Suddenly shaking, he unlocked and opened it and stepped outside.

Of course, it was only after he’d done so that he realised that he hadn’t put his shirt back on… and was thus standing in front of Yakov Feltsman and Victor Nikiforov, entirely shirtless.

Before he could react, be that running away, screaming, or just bursting into tears, Victor smiled at him.

It was almost disconcerting how much comfort he drew from the expression.

“Ah, Yuuri! I was just telling Yakov here that I’m only late because I had an important errand to run before this competition.”

The older Russian’s face only got grimmer as he spoke. “An errand? Picking up a Japanese boy isn’t an ERRAND, Victor. And more importantly… didn’t I tell you to leave well enough alone already? Haven’t you done enough damage to Victor’s skating?”

The words hurt – he couldn’t quite hide his flinch. There was also no way to defend against them because the coach was simply… right.

Yuuri swallowed, casting his eyes down.

“Yuuri didn’t do anything to my skating. He’s also not at fault for those photos, AS YOU WELL KNOW. Don’t make HIM feel bad because you’re angry at me!”

He fought the urge to physically hide behind Victor. It would be childish to do so, he knew.

“Make HIM feel bad? Well, what choice do I have, Vitya? YOU have no conscience! Do you have any idea how much time is left before the start of the men’s skate? A DAY. One day! You are WAY behind where you should be with how much training you’ve skipped.”

“I was sick.” Victor replied, and Yuuri’s blood ran cold – the other man hadn’t mentioned any of that.  
“Sick? SICK? Moping over a BOY isn’t the same as being SICK, as I have told you REPEATEDLY!”

Yuuri hid his face behind his hand in a fake cough – the exchange between the Russians was… more fun than scary, really, not that he wanted to actually draw the ire of Yakov – the Russian coach was easily twice his size.

“Well, it’s all the same now. I’ll win World’s, just you see.” “Oh? And what makes you so sure?” A certain tone of defeat was audible in Yakov’s voice.

“Well, now I have someone to win for, obviously. I want to be able to give my Yuuri a medal, and obviously only gold will do.”

“Yuuri Katsuki.” Yakov addressed him directly, and Yuuri found himself straightening up involuntarily. “Y-Yes?” “You are a skater as well, da?” “Yessir.” “Do you have your skates?” “I do.”

“Great. Then you can come to the rink tomorrow morning at 4.30 with Victor. I got the officials to make an exception and give us extra training time. Since you so desperately wanted to come with, you might as well train too. Besides, I suspect that if I try to ban you from practice, Vitya would just whine again.”

Yuuri nodded, his heart in his throat. Skating in front of Yakov? The idea alone was terrifying.  
“Yakov, stop trying to scare him. You KNOW he’s a skater, you’ve seen the videos. Also, I do not WHINE.”

Even Yuuri had to admit that his words sounded… whiny.

“Four-thirty. Not a minute later.”

With those words, and without acknowledging anything Victor said, his coach left. Yuuri allowed himself to relax once the door closed behind the huge man.

“Are you okay, Yuuri? Yakov is harmless. He’s just a big teddy bear, really.”

Yuuri nodded quietly, though he disagreed – he could see the man as a grizzly bear, sure, but a teddy bear? Not so much.

“Well, you heard him. Will you… will you come with me tomorrow? If it’s too early, you don’t’ have to.” Yuuri found himself shaking his head vigorously.

“No, no, of course I’ll come. I’m not sure if I’ll skate, because your coach is very… intimidating, but I’ll definitely come with you. If… I can cheer you on somehow, I would like to.”

Victor grasped his hand and linked their fingers.

“Just being there is enough. Just you wait – I’ll definitely win you that medal.”

With those words, Victor pressed a kiss to his knuckles before releasing his hand and stepping past him towards their suitcases.

Yuuri did his best not to swoon. It wasn’t easy – he certainly had no hope of hiding the blush on his cheeks. Victor was digging around in his suitcase when Yuuri realised, for the second time, that he still wasn’t wearing a shirt. He opened up his own case and pulled out the first thing he came across – a hoodie.

“Ah, you don’t have to put that on. If you don’t want to.” Victor said, without even turning around.

“Uhm…”

The Russian straightened up and half-turned around.

“I just mean, you don’t have to get dressed on my account, that’s all.” Yuuri squinted at him in confusion, only to realise that the faintest hint of pink was visible on his face and neck.

Oh…

Oh!


	63. Chapter 63

“Well, I don’t want to get cold?” His words sounded entirely too much like a question, but he didn’t miss the way that Victor’s shoulders sank a fraction.

“Oh, of course. I don’t want you to be cold.”

“I, uh, could go and take a shower? If you want to go straight to bed…?”

Victor’s shoulders dropped even further. Oh.

“Sure. Sounds good. I’ll have my turn when you’re done. We should get an early night since we need to be up early as well.”

Unsure what to make of Victor’s reactions, he dashed back into the bathroom and quickly hopped into the shower. The hot water on his skin felt good, though he was all too aware that on the other side of a very thin door was Victor Nikiforov – and that they were about to sleep together… again.

He finished washing his hair and toweled himself off as quickly as possible before heading back out. He had had the presence of mind to grab some sweatpants from his suitcase… but only those, and nothing else leaving him once again in a mildly awkward position.

Still, he steeled his nerves and headed back to the hotel room, where Victor was waiting for his turn in the shower.

He didn’t quite have the confidence to meet his eyes as he hurried straight to the bed even before the bathroom door closed behind him. He felt a little odd, disturbing the pristine sheets as he climbed into them. They were cool to the touch but warmed easily enough once he settled under them. The sound of the shower was audible through the thin walls that separated the two rooms, and Yuuri couldn’t help how his heart pounded at the thought of Victor in the shower.

He was too tired, too emotionally exhausted still, to follow that line of thought, but that didn’t stop him from, well, thinking about thinking about it. Before long, the water shut off, and a few minutes later, soft footsteps on the carpet alerted him to the fact that Victor was approaching the bed.

“Yuuri?” The man asked, his voice soft and quiet. “Mh?”

“Ah, you don’t mind sharing the bed, do you?” “Of course not.” To prove it, he lifted one corner of the blanket in what he hoped was an inviting manner. Victor crawled in to join him quite readily, and soon they were lying a few inches apart.

Yuuri hesitated before reaching across the bed and brushing his fingers over Victor’s arm. The other scooted a little closer in response – not that Yuuri was complaining.

“Thank you for inviting me.” He eventually mumbled to his boyfriend.

“Nothing to thank me for. I wanted you here. After what happened… Yuuri, we’ve had so many misunderstandings because of the distance between us… I wanted you close.”

He suppressed the urge to answer with something stupid like ‘I always want you close.’ and settled for a nod instead.

“Do you think… ah, no, we can talk about this some other time.” “What is it?” “Nothing too urgent. Just… I want to find a way for us to always be close.” “I-I’d like that. Somehow… yeah, that would be good.”

To his surprise, Victor sighed and closed the remaining distance between them, pressing his face against Yuuri’s bare chest.

He could feel the Russian’s eyelashes as they brushed across his skin, even as strong arms wrapped around his middle and tugged him closer. Yuuri was asleep before Victor had fully settled.


	64. Chapter 64

Yuuri woke to the shrill sound of an alarm clock going off… and with a mouthful of silver hair. He was beginning to see a bit of a theme when it came to sleeping with Victor. It was perfectly fine, of course, and didn’t much bother him, but still.

He groaned, fully prepared to roll over and go back to sleep when Victor sat up and stretched. He’d worn a wide shirt to bed, and the way it rode up on his body in the pale moonlight that flooded their room… well, Yuuri reconsidered going back to sleep.

Not that he was any more motivated to get out of bed either – still, when Victor got up he followed suit, heading straight for the bathroom in an attempt to wake himself up. He was entirely unsuccessful in this task, and so just followed after Victor’s instructions. The Russian was way too awake, as far as Yuuri was concerned, but he was kind enough to set out clothes for Yuuri, so he simply changed into them, took his skate bag and followed Victor.

The rink they were headed to after a brief stop for a cup of tea and a croissant at the hotel bar turned out to be only two buildings away. It was almost entirely dark, the lights still switched off, but the main rink was lit up well enough – although they were right on time, Yakov was already there, already waiting.

For a moment, Yuuri expected the hostility from the last night to continue, but that wasn’t the case, thankfully. In fact, Yakov didn’t acknowledge his presence at all, beyond a nod in response to his good morning.

Instead, he turned his attention straight to Victor – he ushered the younger man through his warm-ups and into his skates while Yuuri sat on a bench with a good view. He hadn’t had many opportunities to observe coaches training their skaters, so he did his best to pay attention – with limited success.

He felt his eyes slip closed time and time again until eventually, he decided to give in and take a nap. Although it was a little odd, using his skating bag and jacket as a pillow and blanket worked surprisingly well. He wasn’t too comfortable on the bench, but it was better than nothing.

Lulled to sleep by the melodic sound of the two Russians, Yuuri fell back asleep.

His second awakening wasn’t a lot gentler than the first had been – someone yelled his name and he jumped up in surprise – knocking his jacket off him and his skate bag off the bench. His legs nearly tangled and he only just about managed to stop himself from falling over entirely. After working out which way was up, he looked around to find who had woken him – Victor. The man had called him over from the ice and was waving for him to… join him? Yakov was nowhere to be seen.

So, still a little dizzy from sleep, he grabbed his skates and walked to the edge of the rink, where Victor met him.

“Hi, sleeping beauty! Do you feel better now?” No, actually – he felt worse.

“Sure! How has your training been going?” “Mh, pretty well. Yakov is taking a sanity break. Join me on the ice?”

Yuuri had several questions about that but focused on the most relevant one. “Join you? But I’m not warm?”

“Oh, just to skate around, not real training. Unless you’d rather not?”

Yuuri had kicked off his shoes before Victor had finished speaking – like he would turn down ANY sort of skating together with Victor.

A few minutes later, he was standing on the ice, oddly unfamiliar without his usual warm-ups… or his usual sleep.

Still, the ice under him and Victor’s hand in his own felt good – better than expected, even just before 6 in the morning. They skated lazy circles around the empty rink for quite a while, Yuuri slowly finding his metaphorical feet.

He even managed to wake up properly for the first time that morning – properly enough to fully comprehend what was going on. He was skating next to Victor Nikiforov.

“Victor?” “Mh?” “Shouldn’t you be practicing?” “Ah, I need breaks too. Besides, this is more fun. I know my routine well enough either way.” “Fair enough. I just don’t want to get in the way.”

“Oh Yuuri… you could never get in the way. How about I dedicate tomorrow’s performance to you?”

“Uh, what do you mean, dedicate?”

“Oh you know those interviews they always have at performances?” No, Yuuri did not know. How could he? He’d never skated at Victor’s level, and frankly, the thought of international interviews didn’t endear him to it either.

“Sure.” “Well, they always ask about why I skated like that, you know. I could tell them it’s because of you.”

“W-What? No!” “Aw, but why not?” “Y-You should skate because you enjoy it. Not for any other reason.”

“How idealistic of you!” With a giggle, Victor pushed off and skated ahead of him – of course, Yuuri gave chase.

As it turned out, two pro figure skaters chasing each other around a rink was… fun.

They’d continued too if it hadn’t been for Yakov’s reappearance just as Victor caught Yuuri by the waist and pulled him to him.

The older Russian yelled something at them, and a laughing Victor released him.

“What did he say?” Yuuri asked under his breath, so Yakov wouldn’t be able to hear. “Oh he asked if I was switching to speed-skating, that’s all. Why not stay and train with me? There’s enough space on the ice.”

“B-But…”

“No buts, just warm up properly and train with me!”

Who was Yuuri to turn down an offer like that?


	65. Chapter 65

Half an hour later, by unspoken agreement, they had split the rink between themselves. Victor skated on about 2/3rds of it, while Yuuri had the rest – Yakov stood between them. To Yuuri’s surprise, the older man hadn’t immediately gone and ignored him – as a matter of fact, he’d started watching Yuuri pretty quickly, and called out the occasional comment to him.

It was… well, mostly terrifying, but also quite helpful.

Yuuri had very little in the way of professional advice, and he wasn’t about to ignore the words of Victor’s coach.

Once he got over his initial shyness of skating with Victor, he even practiced his jumps – now there, Yakov was a lot more critical, but still not as… mean as Yuuri had feared.

By the time lunchtime rolled around, the three of them headed back to the hotel and ate at the restaurant there. For the most part, the two Russians spoke in their native language, while Yuuri listened to the sound, unable to understand – not that he minded. He really, really did not want to negatively impact Victor’s performance.

After lunch, they headed to a gym, rather than a rink. Yuuri had to pay for his ticket, but he didn’t mind – watching Victor work out was, uh, interesting.

He ended up on a treadmill while Victor worked a few machines – for two reasons. First, he had a better view of the man there, and secondly, setting a punishing enough running pace meant that he didn’t have to worry about looking too… closely.

The fact that Yakov hadn’t come with them, and that the gym was basically deserted didn’t help his thought process any… but at least running was good for him… right?

A glance at the tracker on the treadmill revealed that he’d run a good 10km in the time Victor had worked his strength – to said Russian’s amazement.

Yuuri was a bit surprised at the difference in their stamina – sure his thigh’s burned, but Victor looked almost wrecked as they headed to the showers after gym. Sadly (or perhaps luckily) the showers were single cabins – no risk of running into anyone and accidentally on purpose ogling them.

Well, Yuuri certainly felt better after the shower, and looking at Victor with his hair wet was certainly right up his alley – even more so when Victor declared he was done for the time being and practically dragged Yuuri back to their hotel room for a nap.

Said nap was Victor all but yanking off both of their clothes, pushing Yuuri under the blanket and then practically laying down on top of him.

Only one of them got any sleep, but for once Yuuri didn’t end up with a mouthful of hair – just an incredible amount of frustration instead.

He didn’t mind one bit.

What he did mind was the fact that the competition was drawing ever closer and Victor acted like he didn’t mind at all. Yuuri very much did – it was World’s, and only one night away.

The further the day progressed, the more it became obvious that Victor seemed determined not to talk about or even acknowledge the competition.

Yuuri eventually realised that that was probably just how Victor was, how he prepared. It certainly was a more sensible approach than Yuuri’s best move – over-eating because of anxiety.

Not that he wasn’t still feeling a bit of second-hand anxiety – after they had dinner together, Victor excused himself because of some competition-related business Yuuri didn’t quite get… and so, he found himself alone in their hotel room.

It was bizarre – the room had a lovely view over a well-lit part of Taipei, but Yuuri was still at a loss what to do. He hadn’t packed a computer or anything of the sort – well, he hadn’t exactly had much time to do so, really, and Victor had chosen what to put into his suitcase.

He ended up looking it up the hotel they were in on his phone – supposedly, it featured a pool.

It was easy enough to call down to reception and ask where it was – a good ten minutes later, he was in the basement, swimming lanes in the heated pool. Unsurprisingly, it was quite deserted. The only other people there were an older couple that left a little after he got there.

Yuuri found swimming quite relaxing, even if he was already tired from his long day.

He lasted for about half an hour until swimming lands turned into idle paddling and eventually just treading water in the shallow end. He had no plans for the night and Victor hadn’t told him when he’d be back… It gave Yuuri time to think.

He hadn’t much thought about how he was going to watch Victor – he didn’t have a ticket for the competition, so he’d likely have to stay in the room and watch it on TV. Flying all the way to Taiwan in order to watch a competition on a screen – even if it was a very nice flat-screen – felt a bit odd to him. Of course, making the trip with Victor, seeing Victor, was well worth it, but he couldn’t help but wonder about a better alternative. After towelling off and changing back into his regular clothes, he decided to look up other ways to attend.

His phone quickly revealed that last minute tickets for the event were wildly out of his price range, putting that thought to rest quite quickly.

Then the other option he’d thought of was to ask to be included in Victor’s skating team. It wasn’t an impossible ask – but it was pretty unreasonable. It would also require him to find Victor’s coach to ask for a pass – even less reasonable as the man was also busy, and frankly, Yuuri was a little afraid of him.

Back in the room, he found that Victor still hadn’t come back, even though it was well past nine. Idly sitting around didn’t much suit Yuuri, so he decided to go to bed early – at the very least, he’d get to enjoy a few hours of undisturbed sleep.

That, at least, had been the plan – not half an hour after he laid down, the door practically banged open and Victor stumbled in. He was… it took Yuuri a few moments to place it, but the man seemed drunk.

It was the only explanation Yuuri had for the way he dropped his clothes all over the room and dropped face-down onto the bed without so much as acknowledging Yuuri’s presence.

“Are you okay?” “Huh?” “Victor? Are you… okay? Are you drunk?” The other man snickered. “I’m Russian, I don’t get drunk, but I did drink a little. I was out with the Russian delegation and they kept insisting I drink with them. Sorry I couldn’t come back any sooner.”

“No, it’s okay. I understand you have obligations of your own.” “Buuuuut you were all alone…”

“I went swimming. It was fine.” “What? More exercise? Yuuuuriiii, you’re a machine!” “No, you’ve just had too much. You should take a shower and go to bed properly.”

“Yessir!”

Chuckling at the man’s antics – and Yuuri didn’t believe for a moment he wasn’t at least a little drunk – Yuuri got up and folded his clothes for him. He felt a little like an annoyed housewife cleaning up after her husband. Of course, he put that thought to rest as soon as possible. He was no housewife… and if Victor wanted a househusband… no, that wasn’t a good thought either.

“He’d probably look better in an apron anyway.” He mumbled to himself as he hung up Victor’s jacket.

“Who would?”

Yuuri shot around at lightning speed – he hadn’t heard the water shut off, nor had he heard Victor leave the bathroom.

“I, uh, you? Would look good in an apron?” He hoped Victor wouldn’t be too offended by the thought.

“Oh? Well, I’ll have to greet you in nothing but an apron the next time you visit my flat.” “The next time I visit your – wait, what do you mean nothing but an apron?” Yuuri instinctively backed away a little.

“Isn’t that a popular Japanese fantasy?” “Well… yes, but how did you know?” “Oh, I googled it. Ages ago. I had to impress the cute Japanese boy I was falling for somehow, you know?” Blushing, Yuuri shook his head.

“Just being yourself is enough… and you can’t just wear an apron, that’s not hygienic.”

“Ah, I should have known – would you prefer a full maid costume instead?” Yuuri had no response to that other than a rather pathetic whine.

“Y-Y-You’re definitely drunk!” Unable to so much as make eye contact with the other man in the dimly lit room, Yuuri ushered him to his side of the bed and laid down at the other end.

“Yuuuuriiii… you’re going to stay that far away from me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“You stink.”

“I showered!”

“Sleep over there. You need to rest for tomorrow.”

“I’d get a better rest if you were close to me.”

“J-Just go to sleep.”

Of course, when Victor inched across the bed and wrapped his arms around Yuuri, he in no way protested. He slept better with Victor too.

Even thoughts about the upcoming competition couldn’t change that.


	66. Chapter 66

Come morning, Yuuri woke up alone.

It was disorienting, for a few moments, until he fished for his glasses to look around the room. He really was alone, but there were clues as to what had happened – there was what looked like a room-service plate and cover stood on the desk, and a note was sitting on his dresser. Victor’s shoes were gone, as was his skate bag.

A glance at the time revealed he’d woken well in time for the event to start at 1pm, but hours after the skaters were due to prep for it. He hurried out of bed and into his clothes before grabbing the note and peeling under the cover of the plate.

It revealed half a plate of pancakes – clearly, someone had eaten the first half.

The note Victor had left him was quite short – it seemed like the Russian had been in a hurry.

‘Good morning sleeping beauty! Your breakfast is on the desk, I couldn’t bear to wake you up. Your all-access pass is at reception, so just pick it up and head to the rink when you’re ready. Show the pass to someone there and they’ll direct you my way. Hope to see you before the competition starts!’

Yuuri wolfed down his pancakes without so much as sitting down, and with the biggest smile, he’d had in ages. In record time, he was dressed and racing to the elevator. Picking up the pass at reception was easy – it was actually much harder to get into the rink.

In just a day, the rink had gone from casual exercise location to an all-out mini-Fort-Knox. It was… impressive.

Yuuri’s heart was racing as he walked up to the first security person he spotted and showed off his pass to them. He felt like, for a moment, he was going to be turned away, like he was going to be told it was fake, or something to that effect… but no. The security agent used his little walkie-talkie for a quick conversation in Mandarin with someone, then pointed Yuuri in the direction of his superior. The woman in question checked the pass a little more thoroughly before flagging down yet ANOTHER security agent, who ended up leading Yuuri to the changing rooms he’d already been in before. There were a few athletes, a few coaches, and other staff… but all in all, Yuuri was shocked by how… not different it was.

Sure, there were more people around, but it didn’t have… Yuuri had expected there to be something special, something that showed that the most important skating competition in the world was taking place there, but there was nothing special.

Of course, Yuuri could have squealed in excitement at seeing so many famous, inspiring skaters nearby… but that fell short still of his excitement at seeing Victor Nikiforov skate. The security agent was kind enough to point him towards Yakov – not that he would have needed the help, the Russian was hard to miss.

And Victor… Victor was on the ice. Not skating, just leaning up against the barrier and talking to Yakov. Yuuri felt himself blushing scarlet, unable to really tell why. He found himself approaching carefully, worried to somehow break the air of concentration between them, but he needn’t have worried – a mere few moments later, Victor glanced around and their eyes met across the few meters that separated them. Yuuri froze, Victor smiled.

Suddenly things felt different – even the air around him felt more… charged, more like what he expected from World’s.

He walked over to Victor’s coach, his eyes never wavering from Victor. The low noise of the rink, of the people around was dying off in the background – he was about to see Victor skate in World’s.

It was his dream, really.

What made it even better was that he wasn’t just here to see Victor, he was there WITH Victor. Around his neck was a pass proving he was part of Victor’s crew – not that he was doing anything, of course. He stopped a few steps away from where he would have been able to touch Victor if he’d reached out, and just like that, the noise of the event around him crashed back on him. It suddenly sounded deafening, and he felt like all the people around him were suddenly, well, questioning why he was there, what he was doing.

He realised it a moment before he turned, his body acting on autopilot, not for the first time. He was running, sprinting, racing away from everything.

By the time he could see properly again, by the time he stopped running… he had no idea where he was.


	67. Chapter 67

Well, that wasn’t true – he could see where he was. In some sort of broom closet. It was quite dark, only a small window letting in light, revealing two stacked up tables, a mop, a few other cleaning supplies, and some boxes.

Well, crap.

Heart still racing, he sat down and did his best to calm himself, to follow the advice his therapist had drilled into him. It took a few minutes, but eventually, he managed to focus, to calm down enough to let his body relax as well.

That’s when realisation set in – he’d just run away. From Victor. Again.

He really didn’t know why the Russian even bothered with him.

Groaning, he let himself drop back against the closed door, just as someone tentatively knocked.

“Yuuri?”

Even muffled through the door he recognised the voice.

“V-Victor? Shouldn’t you be on the ice?”

“Ah, yes, but I saw you run off and had to check on you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No no, it’s okay. Are you… okay?”

“I, uh, yes? I will be. In a few minutes.”

“Okay, then I’ll wait here for you!”

“What? No! You have to go back and prep for your first skate!”

He heard a muffled chuckle.

“That’s all fair and good Yuuri, but do you know the way back?”

The man… had a point.

Yuuri hugged his knees to his chest in embarrassment and didn’t answer.

“That’s what I thought. It’s fine, I don’t have to actually skate for another hour or so anyway. We can just… stay here if you’d like.”

A light thud revealed that Victor had sat down too, with his back to the door like Yuuri.

“I’m sorry I’m so much trouble, Victor.”

“You’re not trouble. It must have been quite overwhelming, right? Waking up alone in the hotel room, coming to the event, everything being so hectic… I understand.”

“No.”

“Hm?”

“It… it wasn’t any of that.”

“Oh?”

“It was… it was when I saw you. I mean you’re here to skate in World’s, Victor. And I’m here… with you.”

“Well of course you are.”

“But I’m just…”

“No, Yuuri, none of this ‘I’m just me’ nonsense. I followed you to Japan in order to make up with you. You’re not ‘just’ anything, understand?”

“I’m sorry I’m like this.”

“It’s fine. Are you up to coming out?”

Truthfully… no, not really. But he could make himself, for Victor’s sake. Gulping, and shaking just a little, he stood and reached for the door. Opening it, he found himself face to face with Victor’s chest – and immediately wrapped in welcoming arms.

The first thing he noticed was that Victor was… too tall. Yuuri was pressed against Victor’s chest, his head ending somewhere below his shoulders. Sure, Yuuri was always shorter, but not… that short. He glanced down, best as he could, and realised almost instantly what was going on.

Victor was in skates.

Victor had CHASED HIM in skates.

He pushed the other man back a little and looked up, finding Victor quite confused – understandably so.

“You… you didn’t even take your skates off?”

“No, didn’t have the time. It’s nice to be so much taller though.” Victor gave him a sheepish grin he decided to ignore for the time being.

“But… but you must have run? In your skates?”

“Well, yes. I mean, I’ve been wearing skates for almost two decades. I can run in them by now.”

“You could have stumbled! Fallen! Hurt yourself! Just before competition! Victor, you have to be more careful!”

The Russian seemed remarkably unimpressed by his concern.

“It’s fine. I had to make sure you were okay after all. Besides, it wasn’t far. We’re only a few steps from the rink.”

Yuuri blinked twice.

“Really? It felt like… like I ran for a while?”

“Ah, well, you did, but you took a longer route down a hallway with no doors… I took a much shorter way.”

“I… see.”

“Shall we go back?”

“Y-Yes, sure.”

Yuuri followed Victor when he took the lead – down a short hallway to what looked like… a dead-end?

“Victor?”

“Hm? Oh, it’s a sliding door here. It’s an equipment room and they store the Zamboni here. I discovered it yesterday. I don’t think I could have kept up with you if you’d run somewhere else.”

How in the world did the man make it sound like it wasn’t a big deal?

Yuuri gulped and followed Victor through the dimly lit hall – it did indeed seem to be for a Zamboni and they were back by the rink in less than a minute.

Back by the rink, where Coach Yakov was staring them down.

Oh no.


	68. Chapter 68

Approaching the Russian was one of the harder things Yuuri had done recently. He felt like a lamb on its way to the butcher, but all the large man did when Yuuri came within arm’s reach was sigh and say something to Victor in Russian.

It didn’t sound… well, not nearly as aggressive or judging as Yuuri had expected, not that he managed to meet the man’s eye either way. Victor’s hand on his back was all that kept him from bolting, except he realised pretty quickly they couldn’t stay together for long – after taking a swig from his bottle, Victor headed back to the ice, leaving Yuuri with his coach.

He anxiously awaited what the man might say to him, staring pointedly at his feet so as to hopefully delay the inevitable.

It didn’t work.

“You are alright?” The Russian asked him, much to Yuuri’s surprise.

“I… yes?”

“Good.”

Yuuri said nothing, overly aware of the large man despite his lack of confrontational attitude.

“Vitya insists it wasn’t you who sent the photos.”

“It WASN’T!”

Yuuri shot around and finally worked up the courage to properly look at the other man. Yakov was… well, he was smiling.

“I know that. You wouldn’t be here if you had done that. I didn’t have that much faith. I didn’t want him to go to you at all.”

“Yeah. Victor said… he said he ran away to come see me.”

The Russian responded with a nod. “He did. I was furious, but it’s Vitya. Not the first time he has done something against my orders. I do… well, I owe you an apology.”

Yuuri blinked in confusion. “An apology, sir?”

“Yes, Mr. Katsuki. I didn’t know what sort of person you were. I assumed the worst, and I didn’t realise that you had your own… struggles.”

“You mean my anxiety? I’m sorry I ran away. I… panicked.”

“I can tell. I sometimes don’t think about the fact that not everyone is strong like Vitya. Some of my other skaters, the young ones, they are more… like you. How old are you?”

“I turned 19 a few months ago.”

Yakov’s response was what sounded decidedly like a Russian curse.

“Uhm… sir?”

“Ah, I didn’t realise how young you were. Victor never told me. That boy…” Yuuri smiled weakly – he’d never thought his age would be something that would be a point in his favour with the old coach,

“I’ve seen you skate, Mr. Katsuki. You have some talent. I wasn’t convinced of you until I saw that but it’s difficult to lie on the ice.”

Yuuri turned away from Yakov and towards the ice, immediately finding Victor’s form at the far side of the ice, posing for some photos.

“I like it because it’s quiet. There’s only me and the cold.”

“Mh. I can see that. Victor isn’t quiet, you know. He’s loud. Always. And he’s annoying. All the time.”

Yuuri felt his heart skip a beat, his fondness for Victor overwhelming him for a second.

“He’s perfect.”

“You two really do deserve each other.” The words were spoken so quietly that Yuuri was fairly certain he wasn’t meant to heart them – that suited him just fine, truth be told.

It was easy enough to focus on something else, the thing he always focused on – Victor’s presence. He heard the announcers rattle off a list of names, some information on the upcoming competition, but he wasn’t listening. Victor was skating past him, close enough that Yuuri could see the loose hairs that had already escaped his ponytail.

Victor, as well as the other skaters, lined up – it was time.

The competition was starting.

When Yakov grabbed his arm and pulled him back from the edge and to a bench, he didn’t resist, his heart racing at a thousand beats per minute. It was happening. Victor was about to skate in Worlds and Yuuri had first row seats.


	69. Chapter 69

It was only the short program, yet Yuuri felt like he’d watched Victor win. He felt like somehow he’d just watched skating for the first time all over, and it was as magical, as fresh as it had ever been.

Victor was beautiful.

Sure, Victor was always beautiful, but it was different.

When the Russian stepped off the ice after his skate, breathing hard but beaming, Yuuri was running straight over to him, leaping into his arms.

Victor caught him.

Yuuri couldn’t help babbling an endless stream of praise while a grinning Victor dragged him along – only when they were already sat on the small bench did Yuuri realise where they were – the Kiss&Cry.

It felt surreal – he’d hoped he’d end up there of course, but he’d assumed if it happened at all, it would be because of his skating, and not because of Victor’s.

Of course, those thoughts evaporated as soon as the scores were announced – the Russian had come within two points of the world record, and he actually seemed disappointed he hadn’t beaten it.

Head spinning, because how was Victor even real, Yuuri traipsed after the skater and his coach when they made space for the next group of people. He’d intended to watch the rest of the competition, what with Victor having gone first, but with a score like that, there was no point – not only would nobody else top that score, but he would rather be with Victor anyway.

It was almost surprising how nobody seemed to mind that he followed Victor to the competitor’s changing area, empty as though it was.

He still felt like a puppet on strings, like someone else was moving him and he was just a spectator. After all, surely what he’d just witnessed couldn’t be real?

“Ahhhh I’m so disappointed! I was hoping to break my record so that I could dedicate the new one to you!” Victor’s voice ripped Yuuri from his thoughts.

“You did amazing.” He protested.

“Eh, I did okay. Did you enjoy watching me skate?” Yuuri didn’t know what to say – of course he did, but words couldn’t express how he’d felt watching Victor.

…maybe actions could.

Before he could talk himself out of it, Yuuri tugged on the sleeve of Victor’s jacket and made him spin around. The Russian had already taken his skates off, so the height difference between them was a little less jarring than it had been before.

Yuuri grabbed the lanyard of Victor’s pass and yanked him down, catching him off-guard enough that Victor half-toppled forward, their lips crashing together a little harder than what Yuuri had intended.

The ensuing kiss certainly made up for it.

He had no idea if Victor was surprised by how forward he was or not, but within moments, they were wrapped up in each other’s arms and kissing like there was no tomorrow.

Yuuri was dimly aware that after a few moments, they stumbled back and he collided with one of the benches at the other end of the room.

He sat down hard, never breaking contact with the other man.

Moments later he found himself with a lapful of Victor, the man straddling his thighs, their bodies pressed tightly together.

It was probably the most erotic thing Yuuri had ever experienced. The other man was making happy little noises into the kiss, sitting in Yuuri’s lap as he was.

Yuuri’s fingers snuck under Victor’s jacket of their own accord, and after a moment’s hesitation, tugged on the costume he was wearing underneath too. It was a combination of tucked shirt and tights, so it was easy enough to pull free the shirt and run his fingers over bare skin.

The way the Russian shuddered above him made Yuuri wonder if God was real and if so if he’d somehow become his favourite. Then all thought was wiped from his mind when Victor ground his hips down and Yuuri felt how hard he was.

It wasn’t the first time he’d felt it, but it had never felt more real than it did just then.

Yuuri was dimly aware of some noise in the background – a door opening and closing again – but he ignored it.

Victor was still rubbing himself against Yuuri, and much as he was overwhelmed a little, he was loving it. The Russian seemed content to just keep doing what they had been – kissing and basically humping Yuuri – but the Japanese man wasn’t quite so easily satisfied.

Before he could think better of it, he wrapped his hands around the part of Victor’s thighs where it met his ass and lifted a little – when he realised he was strong enough to move the other, he heaved them both up and stood.

Victor’s legs immediately wrapped around his hips, making it both easier and harder to carry him. Yuuri realised he didn’t exactly have a plan on where to go either, so he just stumbled a few steps, until they collided with a wall.

It was rougher than he’d intended, but if the moan Victor gave was any indication, he was still 100% into it. Victor was held up by Yuuri’s body and the wall behind him, and despite their normal height difference, this meant that their lower bodies were aligned nearly perfectly.

Yuuri knew Victor’s legs were strong of course – they were both skaters – but he was a little impressed with how easily the man squirmed with his legs still around him until their clothes-covered erections brushed directly together for the first time.

Yuuri saw stars and if it hadn’t been for the wall, he’d have dropped Victor entirely. As it was, he wasn’t sure which of them was holding who up – either way though, it felt wonderful.

Victor was slowly speeding up his motions, his arms wrapped around Yuuri’s shoulders more tightly than was comfortable.

Yuuri couldn’t do much more than stand there and move his hips against Victor’s, time and time again, what with the way they were clinging to each other.

He briefly wondered if he ought to be doing more – after checking that he could safely let go, he moved one of his hands from the Russian’s thigh to first his ass, then his back and finally his chest.

He could feel Victor’s heartbeat racing under his fingers as he brushed them over the man’s chest, well-aware that his own heartbeat was mirroring it. Before he could decide what to do next, Victor grabbed his wandering hand and put it right back to where it had originally been on his ass.

Yuuri reflexively tightened his grip, causing Victor to moan even louder.

He could work with that.

Filled with a sudden burst of confidence, Yuuri lifted the other just a little higher, pressed him against the wall harder and kissed him more forcefully.

Mere moments later, Victor broke their kiss with a groan before burying his face in Yuuri’s neck. He rubbed himself against the Japanese two or three more times, then, with a quiet sob, he stilled.

Unsure what to do, Yuuri stopped too – had he done something wrong?


	70. Chapter 70

After a few moments of laboured breathing and shuddering, Victor shifted and loosened his legs from around Yuuri’s waist. He immediately backed off enough to let the other man stand on his own – not that he made any move to let go of Yuuri completely.

Yuuri was more than content to stand there and hold Victor, but he was also wondering why the other had stopped – had Yuuri overdone it?

Before he could even get to apologising, Victor kissed him again – it was a bit sloppy and not nearly as passionate as before, and only lasted a few moments before the other drew back.

Yuuri was frozen in place, anxious for the other to talk – he didn’t have to wait too long.

“Yuuri… I know we said we didn’t want to yet… but wow.”

“Uhm…”

“Hm? Oh? Oh! You mean you didn’t… wow. Now I’m just embarrassed.”

Yuuri wasn’t following, but Victor did, in fact, look a little embarrassed.

“Uh, don’t be?”

“But…”

“It’s fine?”

Whatever it was, it was probably fine.

“Hm, if you’re sure… what about you though? Do you want me to…”

Before Victor could explain what Yuuri supposedly wanted, the door opened again and they jumped apart quickly, Victor stumbling a little.

It was Yakov.

He said something to Victor in what Yuuri now recognised as his ‘genuinely angry’ tone, and he instinctively shrunk back behind Victor.

Whatever the two said, it was clear that Victor actually seemed contrite – Yuuri was just getting more and more confused by the minute.

At the very least the arrival of the Russian coach had solved his other problem – potentially permanently, based on how he felt. Yakov wasn’t what anyone wanted to think of when making out with someone.

That stupid thought kept circling his mind as he followed Victor out of the changing room a few minutes later after the Russian got to the actual changing part and slipped out of his costume and into his tracksuit.

Yuuri turned his back – he was pretty sure he didn’t imagine the amused chuckle Victor gave at his actions.

Yakov led them both to what looked like an assembly hall, and after ushering Yuuri to a chair in the back, he led Victor to a table on a low podium.

Yuuri realised he’d found himself at a press conference.

As soon as Victor sat down, he was bombarded by questions, so fast that Yuuri could barely follow them.

He was a little surprised that interviews were happening in between events, but then again it was Victor – he spotted some other international skaters around the room as well.

Any other day he might have fanboyed over them as well, but given what just happened, he simply didn’t have it in him to think about anyone but Victor.

The press conference barely lasted ten minutes before Victor happily hopped from the podium, winked at Yuuri – he was sure the man made eye contact – and dashed out a side door.

Yuuri took it as an invitation and decided to follow.

The door led to a smaller room, empty save for a few chairs, whiteboards and another door. He went through it as well and found himself in the chilly outside air of Taipei.

Before he could even look around for Victor, a hand wrapped around his wrist and tugged.

Off-balance, he fell into the person that had pulled, moments before silver hair covered most of his field of vision and he relaxed into a familiar hug.

“Hi there.” Victor mumbled against the side of his head.

“Hi.”

“Can we go back to the hotel? I don’t have any more obligations.”

“Of course.”

Like Yuuri would refuse?

Hand in hand, they headed back towards the nearby hotel, in silence. Yuuri realised part-way through the walk that he still had absolutely no idea of exactly what had happened in that changing room. Sure, he had his… assumptions, but he wasn’t sure.

Victor seemed to sense the change in him because he stopped walking and turned towards him.

“Yuuri?”

“Hm?”

“Is everything okay? You’ve barely said a word. Is something wrong?”


	71. Chapter 71

“No, nothing is wrong. I just… about the changing room?”

To his surprise, Victor coloured a cute shade of pink and averted his gaze.

“About that… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I was just excited. I’m really sorry.”

“No, it’s fine, but why did you stop?”

“Well, I, uh, finished? I hadn’t realised that you hadn’t.”

It took him a remarkably long time.

Much longer than it should have.

Even with how embarrassed his companion looked, Victor couldn’t hide his amusement at Yuuri’s expression.

“What did you think happened?”  
“I didn’t know? I thought maybe I’d overdone it? Done something wrong?”

“Oh my Yuuri… that is probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Best post-skate cooldown I’ve ever had.”

With that, his embarrassment was seemingly wiped away and he grabbed Yuuri’s hand again.

They finished their brief walk, Yuuri well aware that his cheeks were still flaming when their hotel room door slapped shut behind them.

Victor was quick to excuse himself into the bathroom for a(n apparently) much-needed shower, which left Yuuri alone to steep in his own feelings.

Fantastic.

Of COURSE, he’d misread the situation – when didn’t he get it wrong?

He really wasn’t sure what Victor even saw in him.

Surely the Russian could do better.

Still, it wasn’t someone ‘better’ that was currently listening to what was frankly an assault on music echoing from the thinly-walled bathroom, it was Yuuri.

Victor sang in the shower, and absolutely awfully so.

Snickering into his pillow, he forced himself to relax. Things were going… well. At least, not badly. Really well, actually, going by the changing room scene.

Even though it had been less than an hour before, it felt like a foreign memory to Yuuri – like someone else had lived it and only told him about it.

Flopping down onto his stomach, he grinned into the pillow.

It wasn’t someone else who had done that – it was him. He had done that, to Victor, and the other man had liked it.

A lot.

Now that he was thinking about it, how had he ever mistaken his reactions as anything but the enthusiastic approval they had been?

He really was an idiot sometimes.

He was still grinning to himself when the water shut off and the awful singing changed to slightly less awful whistling. A mere few moments later, and much sooner than expected, a heavy weight settled on his thighs and butt – Victor had straddled his legs.

A second later, strong hands rubbed up and down his lower back and sides.

Based on the water that was dripping on what little exposed skin there was, Victor hadn’t even bothered toweling off.

Well, that was quite an interesting thought.

“All done with your shower?”

“Mhm. Would you like to take one?”

Did he?

“No, maybe later. You don’t have to give me a massage, you know. If anything I should give you one.”

“Nope. You’re the one who held me up for so long. I’m probably heavier than you! I want to make sure you didn’t pull anything.”

“I didn’t. I’m sure.”

“Soooo you don’t want the massage?”

“I didn’t say that.”

Victor’s chuckle made him blush – he was grateful for the pillow hiding it.


	72. Chapter 72

“Say, Yuuri?”

“Hm?”

“Have you thought about what you want to do after the competition?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… we have three more days together and then…”

Then they had to go back to being thousands of miles apart.

Yuuri’s heart clenched uncomfortably at the thought.

“I guess… I’ll try to visit you as often as I can?” Yuuri offered, knowing it sounded lame.

Victor sighed, still working the muscles in his back – it felt divine.

“For the time being that will have to do, but for how long?”

“What do you mean?”

“Yuuri…I want to stay together with you. I love you, and for me that means… long-term.”

They hadn’t technically discussed their relationship that much – it hadn’t occurred to Yuuri that they needed to.

“I do too! Of course, I do! It’s just… the distance…”

Victor’s hands stilled on his back.

“What if you came to Russia?”

“Like I said, I’ll visit you as much as I can.” Yuuri repeated, still a little distracted by the fact that Victor hadn’t realised Yuuri wanted their relationship to last.

“No, I meant what if you came to Russia? To stay with me.”

“Uhm…”

Victor had suggested things like that before, of course, and Yuuri had declined. It just wasn’t reasonable… or possible.

Was it?

“But I was planning on going to college? And… skating? I would like to get a coach if I can afford one. And my family…” He trailed off, unsure what else to say.

“You know, we have colleges in Russia. In St.Petersburg, even.”

“But I don’t speak Russian.”

“You could learn it. Or you could study something that’s taught in English or even Japanese.”

“What about-”

Victor’s heavy sigh interrupted his line of thought.

The man shuffled around for a few seconds, then got off Yuuri’s thighs and let himself drop heavily on the bed next to him.

“Yuuri… I would like you to seriously consider it. There are lots of schools you could attend, of course, you could train with Yakov and me, and if you’d like, you could stay with me, or we could find you a dorm if you prefer that.”

He gulped – Victor made it sound so easy, but Yuuri knew better.

“I can’t afford any of that though.”

“Did I ask you to pay for something? I pay rent whether you are there or not. Yakov considers the financial situation of his students before charging fees, and tuition in Russia is really low. I’d also want to help pay for stuff anyway, and you could easily get a job, at the rink or somewhere else…”

“Victor…”

“Hm?”

“What about my family?”

The Russian was silent for several moments.

“That… that I can’t do anything about. You could visit them regularly, of course, but… you have to decide if you’re willing to leave. I just… I want it to be your decision.”

“Who else would decide?” Yuuri asked, half-jokingly.

“Yuuri that’s not what I meant. Just… you keep listing things like money as a reason why you can’t. I want… all of that doesn’t have to be an issue. I want you to know that none of that IS an issue. I just want you to decide based on what YOU want to do. I’ll accept your decision either way, but I want you to make it because of what you want, not because of what you think you can afford.”

Before Yuuri could reply, Victor had gotten off the bed.

“Look, I’m going to sleep at Yakov’s tonight. Think about it. Please. I’ll… I guess I’ll see you at the free tomorrow. Have a good night.”

Victor didn’t even wait for a response before dashing out of the room. Yuuri was still dumbly staring at the closed door when what had just happened fully sank in.

Victor wanted him to come to Russia and Yuuri… Yuuri didn’t know what he wanted.

Could he leave his family?

Could he take advantage of Victor’s kindness and accept his help?

Could he…

Yuuri reached for his phone and dialled a familiar number.

“Mari? Hey…”


	73. Chapter 73

The morning of the free skate, Yuuri felt like a zombie. He’d slept fitfully after a VERY long talk with Mari and then his parents. He’d texted Victor good night and good luck the next morning but received no reply.

So, he’d headed to the rink half an hour before the men’s skaters were due to start – Victor was last up. Getting through security and to the skater’s area still felt surreal. Once again, he was easily able to spot Yakov’s large frame by the rink – Victor next to him.

Instead of walking over, Yuuri stood frozen to the spot and watched. Yakov was berating Victor over something or other while the Russian skater stretched.

Yuuri nearly jumped out of his skin when a hand settled on his shoulder. He spun around and came face to face with someone he didn’t recognise – a blonde European man in a Jersey covered in Swiss flags.

“Hi!” The taller man greeted him.

“Uh, hello?” Yuuri stammered out, completely off-guard.

“You’re Victor’s boytoy right?”

“I’m… WHAT?”

The other man laughed heartily.

“Oh, I’m just kidding. I’m Chris Giacometti, currently in third place.”

“Nice to meet you.” Yuuri lightly bowed to the skater, embarrassed that he’d paid so little attention to the other competitors.

“Likewise, likewise. So, you and Victor…?”  
“We, uh, we are dating.”

“Oh, congrats! How did you woo him?”

“I, uh, I just… I?” Yuuri was panicking more and more – he had no idea how to handle the man’s intrusive questions.

“I’m just joking. You really should be more careful about where you are though.”

“What do you mean?”

The man snickered.

“I mean that anyone can walk into a changing room here. You should really get a room.”

“We have one.” Yuuri blurted out while trying to process what was happening – when he and Victor had been… engaged, he HAD thought he’d heard the door open, but…

“Chris… you saw?”

“Oh yes. Quite the view, actually.” Yuuri thought he may spontaneously combust when the other winked at him.

“I’m sorry!”

“Don’t be. I made sure nobody else disturbed you. This sort of thing isn’t as uncommon as you think.”

“Uh… Victor making out with someone in a changing room?”

Chris laughed heartily and shook his head.

“No! Don’t worry, your beau isn’t really the type to do that, from what I’ve seen. Competitions like this though… yeah, athletes sometimes do stuff like that.”

“Oh…”

Yuuri was at a loss as to what to say – he was, of course, mortified that they’d been spotted, but why had the Swiss man told him?

“Did you… need something from me?” Yuuri eventually asked.

Chris shrugged.

“Not really. I saw you standing here fanboying over Victor and thought I’d join you. You looked a bit lost.”

Oh, the other man had no idea.

“You’re Victor’s fan too?”

“Mh, of course. He inspired me to skate professionally.” Chris replied.

Yuuri perked up immediately.

“Me too! I mean, I’ve not really participated in any international competitions, but…” The other man nodded.

“I figured you were a skater with your, uh, build. Japanese?”

“Yes! I’m Yuuri Katsuki. Sorry for not introducing myself.”

“No worries. Hm, maybe in a year or two you’ll compete here as well?”

He chuckled awkwardly.

“I doubt it. I don’t even have a coach yet. I’m looking for one though.”

“Oh? Need some recommendations? The senior circuit has a lot of really good coaches.”

“What about Yakov?” Yuuri found himself asking before he could think better of it. Chris gave him a confused look.

“Well Victor would be able to tell you more about that, but he’s one of the best ones out there. He’s trained a lot of Russian champs.”

Yuuri knew that, of course…

“Are you thinking about training with him? I’m sure Victor would be excited.” Something in Chris's tone gave Yuuri pause. It sounded… odd.

“Did Victor ask you to talk to me?”


	74. Chapter 74

Chris was stunned silent for a few moments, then burst into laughter. It took him a few moments to calm down.

“Wow! I don’t know why Victor said you were a bit dense. You caught me! He asked me to talk to you and encourage you to train with Yakov. Mind telling me what that’s all about?”

Yuuri groaned quietly.

“He asked me to come to Russia with him. He didn’t tell you?”

“Nope.”

“Did he really call me dense?”

Chris snickered.

“Well, the word he used was bête. It means… daft? Silly? Something like that. He said you wouldn’t figure it out though.”

Yuuri sighed.

“Well, he probably has a point. What exactly did he ask you to do?”

Chris grinned.

“Well, he asked me to introduce myself, to subtly find out if you were looking for a coach and to recommend Yakov. Seems like I stumbled straight into some relationship drama, huh?”

Yuuri shook his head.

“Not drama, really. Just… I’m trying to make a decision.”

“Fair enough. You’re trying to decide whether you want to go to Russia?”

“More or less.”

“And you’re leaning towards not going?”

Yuuri chuckled weakly.

“Actually… well, promise you won’t tell Victor?”

“Absolutely. I don’t appreciate him using me to manipulate you.”

“I spoke to my family last night, for several hours. They… they think I should go.”

“Okay? So what’s stopping you?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing…”

“I’d already decided to give it a try, at the very least. I was trying to come up with a way to tell him and I wasn’t sure when to tell him either.”

Chris snickered.

“I see. Then, may I suggest that you wait until after the Free?”

“Why?”

“Payback?”

Yuuri wasn’t naturally a vindictive person, not at all.

“Why don’t you introduce me to some of the other skaters for now?” Yuuri asked, decision made.

Chris linked their arms together and led him over to what Yuuri learned to be his coach, before introducing him to some of the other competitors. There were several familiar names, and a few Yuuri actually recognised – he did, however, realise that his fascination with Victor had led him to not care much about other skaters.

Said other skaters now warmly welcomed him when Chris introduced him as ‘one of them’ – none of them judged him for not having competed internationally. Quite the opposite – they were all encouraging.

Yuuri had a fantastic time, truth be told.

Watching the other skaters prepare, watching the first few head to the ice… Yuuri had spent so much time thinking about Victor that he’d nearly forgotten that this was something he wanted as well – he WANTED to compete.

Chris hung around him until it was time for his own skate – Yuuri felt a little nervous without the man around, but having spent a good hour watching some of the other skaters go through their performances, he felt a lot calmer than he otherwise might have.

That didn’t mean that he wasn’t aware of Victor, though. Yuuri had felt the man’s eyes on him as soon as Chris had led him to the others – it had taken a lot of willpower to not go over and say hello.

He was determined to stick to his plan – he’d let him simmer a little before telling him his decision after the skate.

Having decided that, Yuuri still struggled to suppress the urge to run over to the Russian. Even watching the other performances didn’t quite let him ignore the occasional flash of silver that told him where Victor was.

Applauding happily when Chris's performance came to a close, he watched the Swiss skater sit down in the Kiss&Cry. He’d skated well – first place with a fair margin on the next skater.

When he came back to Yuuri, Chris handed him a rose – one of several he’d seen the man pick up from the ice after the performance.

He accepted it happily, all the while his eyes scanned for Victor again – the man would be up in just a few minutes.

He absent-mindedly congratulated Chris on his own skate – he’d beaten his personal best by about a point and a half – and focused on the far side of the rink, where Victor was watching the performance of the second-placed skater, a Frenchman.

A moment later, Yuuri realised that Victor wasn’t actually watching the performance at all – their eyes met across the rink, the other man’s expression inscrutable.

Yuuri had no idea how many minutes they stared at each other for, but eventually, the announcer called for Victor to take to the ice. He did, skating the customary warm-up loops.

He realised a few seconds in that that meant that Victor would cross by right in front of him.

Holding on to the railing of the rink, Yuuri felt his heart flutter when Victor approached, eyes trained on him.

He missed having the Russian right by his side. Of course, having those electric blue eyes trained on him wasn’t exactly bad either. It was only a moment until he had skated past, but he didn’t miss the soft huff from his boyfriend when he passed by.

It was the last circle Victor skated before heading to the middle and taking a position Yuuri had seen a thousand times – or at least that was how it felt.

His heart skipped a beat anyway.


	75. Chapter 75

Victor skated beautifully – as expected. Yuuri was spellbound – as expected.

He was a tad surprised when he found himself right by the exit once Victor stopped moving and the music ended. He hadn’t noticed that he’d gone anywhere at all, not until the spell broke and Victor bowed.

He actually forced himself to step away from the exit, quickly hurried back to where he had been standing near Chris, who was eyeing him knowingly. He avoided the man’s eyes – he didn’t need the judgement there.

He also dodged Victor’s eyes – after leaving the ice, he saw the man glancing around, presumably for him. Dodging him was a lot harder, if only because he didn’t exactly want to. His self-imposed distance ended as soon as Victor sat down in the Kiss & Cry. The announcers wasted no time in calling out Victor’s scores – fantastic, of course. He hadn’t broken his records, but he was firmly in first place, just as Yuuri had known he would be. And with as much certainty, Yuuri crossed the distance between them and leaped into Victor’s waiting arms. Their strange conflict, the distance between them that Victor’s insistent request had brought… it was gone.

All there was now was a warm embrace, a thundering heart in a familiar chest. Yuuri found himself squeezing Victor as tightly as he could, amidst the noise of the cheers of the audience and the rumbling baritone that was Victor’s coach. The man didn’t sound angry for once, but he found himself not caring either way. He was just… happy.

It was Victor after all.

When they let go of each other, it was like their conflict had never happened. Yuuri slipped his hand in Victor’s and off they went. Yuuri didn’t know why he was dragged around along with Victor, but he was happy to follow. Interviews, photoshoots and more – Yuuri had seen some of it before, but none of it struck him as much as the medal ceremony.

He was dating the reigning World Champion.

Him. Yuuri Katsuki.

He was the one that Victor kept glancing at, out of the hundreds of people that were bustling around them.

After a seemingly endless stream of engagements, handshaking, and photos, Yuuri found himself alone with Victor… well, sort of alone anyway – Yakov was with them in a quieter part of the rink. He wasn’t paying attention to them though, instead, speaking to someone on the phone, in Russian.

Yuuri didn’t bother trying to listen for any of the few words he could understand.

Victor was idly looking at his medal, though Yuuri got the impression it was a little more forced and deliberate than the casual pose suggested. Well… he could relate.

He hadn’t had a moment of peace to tell Victor what decision he’d come to, he’d barely managed to congratulate the Russian for his win.

He took a deep breath to gather the courage to actually congratulate Victor properly, but his boyfriend beat him to the punch.

“Yuuri…”

“Hm?”

Thrown off by the unexpected interruption of their relative silence, Yuuri blinked in confusion.

“You seemed really chummy with Chris earlier.”

“He’s nice.”

“Ah, yes. I didn’t think you’d… get along so well.”

It took Yuuri a moment to understand the, frankly, petulant tone in Victor’s voice. It hit him quite hard – jealousy.

“He was great, even introduced me to the others.”

“Yeah, you spent most of the day with them, didn’t you? I was surprised you weren’t by the gate when I started.”

“Ah, yeah… I just… needed some time.”

“Fair enough. Has it been enough time?”

“Yes.”

“So, have you made a decision about what I… about Russia?”

“Yes.”

“I see. And are you ready to tell me?”

“Yep.”

“So…”

“Yes.”

“Well, I mean, if you’re sure you’ve really thought abo-”

“Yes.”

“Uh…”

“You’re not listening to me, Victor. Yes.”

“….Yes?”

“Yes.”

“Yes? Yes!”


	76. Chapter 76

They were both laughing quite hysterically, hugging and half-sobbing. Yuuri had said yes – he’d been sure of course, but he’d not been sure-sure, not until he’d said it. With every time he’d said it, he’d been more sure, until he couldn’t believe he’d ever contemplated otherwise.

It was Victor – they were going to be together, no matter what.

Victor was always filled with optimism, and if someone like him thought that it would be okay, that they could do it… well, Yuuri wasn’t sure he was legitimately stubborn enough to stand up to that.

Yuuri found himself in their hotel room together, hugging. Truthfully, he had no memory of leaving the rink, of walking, or of letting go of Victor at all. He could smell the man’s cologne and sweat – he needed a shower. He could feel the medal pressed against his chest, uncomfortably digging.

It felt wonderful. They were both still giggling, though Yuuri could feel a few tears on his skin too – it didn’t matter. He knew there were things they needed to do, things that needed sorting… tomorrow.

Finally releasing Victor, Yuuri stepped back and took a deep breath. He looked at the Russian with him – stunning.

“It’s not fair that you look so pretty when crying.” Yuuri’s voice was raspy, surprisingly so. His hand flew to his throat, surprised by how choked up he still felt.

Victor snickered in response.

“You’re more of an ugly crier, aren’t you?” Yuuri wasn’t offended – he WAS, after all.

“W-What do we do now?” “Hm?” “I mean… what do we do? I feel so raw.” “Oh Yuuri… isn’t it obvious? We go to sleep. And tomorrow, we go to the banquet.”

“Banquet?” “Oh, yes! It’s usually boring, just a little thing to shake hands and take photos. There’s champagne and dancing… well, I don’t really care for it to be honest. You’ll come with me, right?”

“Uh… can I? Is that allowed?” Victor sat back on their bed and snickered. “Yuuri… I’m the reigning World Champion. If I want to bring a guest, nobody will mind.” With that, Victor took his medal off and held it out to Yuuri.

“Can you hold on to this for me until tomorrow?” Tentatively, Yuuri accepted it. “…Are you sure?”

“Of course I am. Now, I’m going to have a shower. Want to join me?” Yuuri shook his head furiously at the casually phrased question – he wasn’t quite in the right place for something so… tempting. Victor didn’t make a big deal of it and instead just hopped up and darted into the bathroom.

Yuuri sat on the spot on the bed that Victor had vacated, looking down. His head was swimming – Victor’s presence had certainly calmed him, but the faint sound of water in the bathroom didn’t quite have the same effect.

He was well aware that he’d made a huge decision – one of the biggest of his life, probably. Anxiously, he dug out his phone and started typing a text. To his parents – he didn’t text them often, but for once his fingers flew over the keyboard almost blindly.

He sent his text – a summary of how he was doing and a mention of the decision he’d made in seconds. He realised after sending it that a call would have been better – his parents had to have thought so too – his phone rang seconds later.

Yuuri wasn’t quite up to that – he frantically pressed ignore, almost dropping his phone. Before he could make a decision on his next move, a text arrived – his family. He opened it, scanning the kanji as fast as he could.

It was clearly his mother – his father wouldn’t have been so kind, so understanding. Eyes clenched, he fought tears at the words there. The text simply wished him good luck, and told him that he had his family’s support. Deep down he’d known it, had expected it… but it felt wonderful to hear it directly from them.

A few moments later, his phone buzzed again – another text. This one was from his sister – there weren’t any words, just two thumbs up and a little emoji medal. Before he could think what to reply or if he should reply, he heard a faint thump – not from the phone, from the bathroom.

Curious, he approached the door, a little surprised to hear quiet cursing in Russian. Hesitantly, he knocked on the door.


	77. Chapter 77

“Yuuri? Can you… come in? Help me?” Yuuri’s blood ran cold at the muffled words and he immediately stumbled into the bathroom, half-mad with worry. Victor was easy to spot – he was sitting on the floor of the shower, rubbing his calf, dripping wet and naked.

It was relatively easy to tell what had happened from the water splashed all over the room and the mess that was Victor’s normally so neat hair – he’d slipped.

“Are you hurt?” Yuuri was frantically scanning Victor’s naked form for visible injuries but couldn’t spot any.

“Not really. I have a cramp. A really bad one. Could you… could you help me up? Please?” Nodding, Yuuri grabbed the nearest towel and swung it around Victor’s back. He wasn’t quite sure how to help Victor, so he decided to bypass the ‘helping up’ part entirely – in a swift motion, he wrapped his arms around Victor’s back and under his thighs and lifted him and his towel up.

Ignoring his surprised squawk, Yuuri carried him to the bed and set him down on the edge, immediately reaching for Victor’s leg. As soon as he touched his calf, he could feel the tension – there was even a sort of knot under the skin – cursing softly, he immediately started massaging the tension away.

A glance at Victor’s face clearly showed that the man was fighting a fair bit of discomfort – Yuuri couldn’t blame him. Tentatively digging his fingers in harder, he didn’t miss Victor’s wince. At least it seemed to be working – the muscles were relaxing fairly easily under his fingers.

In perhaps a minute or two, Victor had relaxed as well, his expression no longer one of pain.

“Is that better?” Yuuri asked, eventually, his fingers still massaging.

“Much. Thank you. I shouldn’t have hurried through my after-skate routine so much. I cramp pretty easily.”

“You should have said…” Yuuri frowned at him, switching to Victor’s other leg to repeat the massage there.

“Oh, it’s no big deal. I just got unlucky and slipped in the shower. Nothing happened.”

“Well, you could have gotten hurt. You need to be more careful.” Yuuri admonished, working over the fairly tense muscles in Victor’s other leg.

The skater’s reply was in Russian – he suspected he didn’t exactly want to know what Victor had said anyway. He knelt in silence in front of the bed until he was satisfied with the other’s muscles and got up.

To his surprise, his eyes immediately zeroed in on, well, another rather ‘tense’ part of his boyfriend’s – hidden by the towel over his thighs, it wasn’t quite so hidden looking down from above.

Yuuri felt himself blushing scarlet – he’d completely forgotten that Victor had been naked, having been too worried that he may have injured himself earlier. Now it was… well, a little harder to ignore.

To his embarrassment, when he met Victor’s eyes, the other man just winked – no trace of embarrassment at Yuuri seeing him. The only thing that belied his confidence a little was the pink flush around his cheeks and ears – Yuuri suspected that maybe, just a little of Victor’s attitude was pretense.

He couldn’t blame him – cramps hurt.

“Did you enjoy the massage?” He blurted out, in lieu of something even vaguely, well, flirty, to say.

“Yuuri! Of course I did. Thank you.”

To his relief (and disappointment), Victor casually shifted the towel to cover his problem, and just like that, Yuuri could suddenly breathe a little easier.

“So… what do we do now?” He asked, awkwardly playing with the hem of his shirt.

His answer came in the form of a yawn – Victor’s.

“Now we cuddle until we fall asleep!” The Russian declared and stood – a little gingerly, Yuuri noted. Victor wasted no time on things like ‘getting dressed’ and instead inched around to his side of the bed, threw off the towel and climbed under the duvet.

Yuuri turned off the light and quickly followed suit by stripping to his boxers and laying down beside Victor.

He had been a little worried about the cuddling the Russian had suggested, given that he was a little… well, excited as well, but he needn’t have worried – by the time he settled down, his boyfriend was very quietly snoring next to him.

Yuuri let the sound lull him to sleep, thanking the stars that Victor wasn’t much of a snorer.


	78. Chapter 78

Waking up in the morning sucked.

Waking up next to Victor sucked a little less than normal.

Yuuri was woken by the tickling of sunlight on his face – their hotel window had to be facing east, going by how early it was. He had a mouthful of silver hair and a somewhat more… pressing problem – two, actually, if he counted the one that was pressed against his thigh.

Victor had his face pressed into Yuuri’s chest, and their legs were tangled together – that meant that Yuuri’s length was pressed to Victor’s stomach. It was… an interesting position. Awkwardly fishing for his phone, Yuuri checked the time – it was indeed ungodly early.

Shifting around a little, he tried to get to a more comfortable position, but to no avail – the more he squirmed, the more Victor tightened his hold on him.

It wasn’t the worst thing in the world – especially once he managed to spit out Victor’s hair. He had no idea why the man didn’t tie it up or braid it – or, why it seemed to find its way to his mouth so much.

Grinning at the dumb thought of Victor with two pigtails to prevent that from happening, he almost missed the man yawning against his abdomen – apparently, Victor was awake too. Gently, hoping to preserve at least some of his dignity, Yuuri shifted back a little, so he was no longer quite so… pressed against the man.

Indeed, Victor let him, though he made no move to move himself away from Yuuri’s thigh.

To be fair, Yuuri didn’t exactly mind that.

Moments later, bright blue eyes sleepily blinked up at him and the taller man squirmed his way up until they were close enough for a slow good morning kiss.

The day was rapidly becoming one of his top ten mornings, ever, in his life.

“Did you sleep well?” He asked, voice a little rough.

“Always, when you’re here.” The Russian replied before stretching quite thoroughly. “What time is it? How long have you been awake?”

“A few minutes. Not long. I slept well, and you?”

“Mh, me too. Do you want to get up and get some breakfast?”

As if on cue, Yuuri felt his stomach rumble – he hadn’t realised how hungry he was. Then again, it had been some time since they had eaten anything. He could only imagine how ravenous Victor had to be.

“Sure.”

With a wink, Victor rolled away from him, and to the edge of the bed. He didn’t seem particularly fussed that he flashed Yuuri his butt as he came to rest on his stomach – a very… intriguing reminder of the fact that the Russian had foregone clothes the night before.

Sadly, it wasn’t that that caught Yuuri’s attention the most – well, not only that – but something else. Before he could think better of it, Yuuri reached out and wrapped both hands around Victor’s waist, yanking him back towards him, and landing Yuuri on top of him.

The startled moan Victor gave at his action had him blushing scarlet – he was essentially perched over the older man, and in a very… compromising position at that. Well aware that he was seconds away from a full-blown panic attack, he tried to come up with a way to explain himself, all the while also very actively NOT thinking about the possibility his new position afforded him.

Eventually, it was Victor that broke the silence between them. His voice was a little strained when he spoke – he sounded like Yuuri felt.

“Wow! So… forward, Yuuri!”

“I’m sorry that I just…” Yuuri thanked the heavens that his voice didn’t sound squeaky – he’d really thought it might.

“No, don’t apologize. I liked it.”

“Wait, you have it all wrong! It’s just that you have a very big-” Yuuri began to explain himself, stuttering just a little.

Victor interrupted him, his tone extremely smug. “Why thank you!”

“No! I mean… you have a huge bruise on your hip! It must be from when you fell in the shower yesterday.”

Yuuri ran his hand over said bruise – it was a stark purple with blue and green edges covering part of his butt, hip and back. It looked quite horrible, contrasting with Victor’s pale skin – at least, he didn’t seem to be in any particular discomfort.

The man was looking back over his shoulder, to said bruise – it was a bit of an awkward spot for him to see for sure.

With a sigh, Victor shifted away and stood up, still facing away. Yuuri didn’t miss the wince Victor gave when he straightened and put weight on his leg – clearly it smarted at least a little. Despite his urge to do otherwise, Yuuri looked away as Victor limped past him to the bathroom – yes, he would have quite enjoyed watching a naked Victor prance around… but watching him be uncomfortable did nothing for him.

Instead, he scrambled out of bed once Victor was in the bathroom and got dressed in some of his nicer clothes. He also readied some of Victor's clothes for him – a shirt and pants he thought went nicely together. Neatly stacked, he put them down in front of the bathroom.

After checking with his boyfriend, he decided to head downstairs – Victor said he would be a little while, and Yuuri was ravenous.

So, he headed down to the breakfast area. It was blessedly empty – there were only a few people in the huge dining hall.

He picked a table near the window and beelined to the buffet – straight for the fresh fruits.

The hotel provided quite a variety of different things, and he was determined to try them all. So, with a full plate, he sat back at his table again and started shovelling his food into his mouth.

He’d pretty much expected Victor to show up a few minutes after him, but even once he’d finished his plate and replaced it with a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows. He got halfway through his cup before his lover finally appeared – and it was easy to see why it had taken so long.

Victor wasn’t wearing the clothes Yuuri had put out – he was dressed in a full, tailored suit. His hair was done immaculately, still a little damp – clearly he’d washed it and put some product into it. He looked, in a word, spectacular.

Yuuri nearly dropped his cup, romantic-comedy-style, when Victor plopped down. He certainly forgot his own name for an embarrassingly long moment. Luckily, Victor didn’t seem to expect too much conversation from him, instead just niftily stealing Yuuri’s cup and sipping some of his chocolate.

“Mh, delicious.” Victor commented, handing the cup back.

“Extremely.” Yuuri blurted out, in no way referring to his suddenly tasteless chocolate. “Are you going to get something too?” He vaguely gestured towards the buffet, pleased when Victor nodded and immediately hopped up.

He was still limping – a little worse than before, actually. Still, he didn’t seem overly bothered. Yuuri understood – it was the sort of injury he had had before, though usually it was caused by falls on the ice rather than in the bath. Still, they were athletes – accidents… happened. So did bruises.

Victor returned with a considerably smaller cup of yogurt and just a few pieces of melon – instantly, Yuuri felt like a gluttonous slob compared to the other man. It didn’t help that he didn’t look half as good as Victor did either – then again, nobody could.

Ponytail artfully draped over his shoulder, Victor ate his breakfast, while Yuuri watched – he didn’t bother being subtle, not that he would have succeeded. Who would?


	79. Chapter 79

After breakfast, they had to split up – after a somewhat… irate call from coach Yakov, Victor had to head out for a few press engagements. Also at Yakov’s recommendation, Yuuri headed back to the rink alone. With the event over, it was empty again, albeit there was still a fair number of staff disassembling and carrying things around.

It was difficult to ignore them at first and he simply skated basic figures until, eventually, he found his confidence again. The people working at the rink were likely used to better skaters than him but… but he was training. Improving. Trying to get to the same level Victor was at.

Even if that was just a pipe dream, he would get as close as he could.

Skating on his own, in the quiet yet bustling rink, skating felt almost eery. It was easy to reduce what he paid attention to to just him, his skates and the ice. It was what he preferred really.

He found himself skating Victor’s routine – the winning free of the reigning world champion. A man Yuuri had had breakfast with.

It came… easy.

He didn’t quite try with all the quads, and instead stuck entirely to triples and doubles. Skating the routine from memory was nothing he wasn’t familiar with – he’d been doing it for years. Not this specific routine, but he’d learned some of his most valuable skills from watching others and learning from their skating.

He skated for several hours, undisturbed and uninterrupted. Although the rink was unfamiliar, the ice was not – it was the same as back home. Better, even – it was the same ice Victor had skated on.

The idea of that soon being his new normal… he liked it. Wanted it.

On a whim, he sped up and launched into another jump – barely planned. He only felt mid-air that it was a quad and that he’d jumped straight into a quad flip.

He fell – of course, he fell, but he got the rotations in, and for just a moment, his skate landed on the ice, before his leg slid away from under him and he splayed out on the rink. He couldn’t help his laugh though, the exhilaration of coming so close, so close to almost landing it. Standing up and brushing himself off, he hardly noticed the sound of soft clapping nearby.

Spinning around, he spotted Victor and behind him Yakov, at the far end of the rink. He skated over immediately.

“That was beautiful, Yuuri! You had too much speed though, and your balance was a little off. I didn’t know you were practicing this.” Victor babbled, clearly excited. Yakov merely sighed.

“I wasn’t? I just… It just happened. Are you all done?” He asked, a little embarrassed that Victor had seen.

“That’s right! It’s time to prep for the banquet. Are you ready to leave? I have everything ready for you.”

“…Ready?” Instead of Victor replying, Yakov chuckled. Victor just smiled – it did nothing to make Yuuri feel at ease.

Still, he readily got off the ice and followed the two Russians back to the hotel. Victor, still in his suit, looked absolutely perfect, even after several hours of interview.

Yuuri quickly showered, only to immediately be swept up by Victor – quite literally. He was dressed in a grey suit he’d never seen before, and while he tied the pale purple tie Victor had given him, the man styled his hair with some sort of foam he’d never seen before.

He ended up with a gelled-back look that actually suited him fairly well – at least, that was what Victor said. Yuuri had no idea, really. He didn’t even know where that suit had come from – it certainly wasn’t his.

In what seemed like just a few minutes but was closer to a half-hour, he had been transformed completely, including a peach-flavoured lip gloss. It was a little odd, but he wasn’t about to fight the force of nature that was Victor Nikiforov when excited.

Indeed, they found themselves in front of a fairly unassuming pair of double doors on one of the lower floors of the hotel – behind them lay the banquet. Yuuri didn’t quite know what to expect – in fact, he was fairly nervous about it.

Then Victor’s hand settled on his back and nudged him forward, and they entered through the doors.

The ballroom – it really did deserve that title – was filled with athletes, coaches, and guests, most of them happily chatting away. There was a fairly empty dancefloor with only a few couples swaying to the live music there.

It looked… Boring.

Within seconds, Victor was pulled away by someone speaking Russian, and Yuuri found himself alone. He immediately beelined to a corner in order to watch the rest of the room. There were familiar faces – other skaters, mostly, as well as people he’d at least seen on TV. It seemed the majority of the skating world was there… and so was Yuuri.

“Boring, isn’t it?” An arm heavily settled on his shoulders along with a familiar voice – Chris. The man was wearing a somewhat… extravagant green suit with a subtle striping pattern and a yellow tie. He certainly stood out – Yuuri wasn’t sure how he hadn’t spotted the other man sooner.

“A little? I don’t really know what to do here.”

Chris was sipping from a champagne glass.

“Mhm, I hear you. It usually gets a little better later when everyone is drunk. How about we get you a drink?” Without waiting for a reply, Chris snatched him a glass off a nearby waiter’s tray and thrust it into his hands.

Awkwardly, he sipped some – it was a little dry but not bad.

“So I see that Victor is as popular as ever.” Chris commented after a few moments of silence.

“Oh… yes. He’s been really busy today. I’m sure you were too.”

“Mhm, unfortunately. I’ve also noticed something else.”

Confused, Yuuri looked up at the other skater – he didn’t understand what Chris meant.

“Uhm…”

With a snicker, Chris pointed at Victor again.

“It looks like Victor is limping quite a bit. Did you overdo it a little with the celebrating last night?” Yuuri nearly dropped his champagne glass when the implication clicked.

“What? No! No! It isn’t like that! He fell in the bathtub last night!”

Chris emptied his champagne glass and set it down, chuckling as he did so.

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe you… certainly not after your little interlude in the locker room. Slipped in the shower – I mean really.”

“It’s the truth!” He insisted, flushing scarlet.

Chris gave him a calculating look before shrugging. “Is it? Poor Victor. Here I thought something actually interesting actually happened at this banquet, but it seems I was wrong. Shame. Then again, the night is young.”

Yuuri gulped down the rest of his champagne and put the glass next to Chris.

“I certainly don’t plan on doing anything outrageous here!”

“Mh, we’ll see about that. Have some more champagne.”

Slightly irked by Chris’s attitude, he accepted another glass. They went back to watching the people in the room in silence, occasionally sipping. Yuuri got the distinct impression that Chris was mainly staying with him to make sure he was okay – he seemed the ‘life of the party’ type.

At least his suit was.

Yuuri took another drink from his glass and watched as more and more people started twirling around the dancefloor. He was tempted, but with Victor busy… well, he’d hopefully be able to get a hold of his partner sometime that night.

He put his glass down and accepted another fresh one from Chris, who’d had at least twice as many as he had already. Not one to be outdone, Yuuri drank down most of his glass in one go.


	80. Chapter 80

Yuuri had finally had ENOUGH. He’d been at the banquet for over an hour and he hadn’t spoken a word to Victor. He understood that the man was busy and all, but he wanted to see his partner as well.

The closest they had gotten were a few waves and a blown kiss in between Victor shaking hands and posing – Yuuri was fed up.

He told Chris as much. The Swiss skater was all too happy to take his latest champagne glass off of him and even encouraged him to talk to Victor. Just as well – that was the plan.

Zeroing in on the man was easy – he was the centre of attention. In fact, he was surrounded by people, but Yuuri found it easy enough to make his way past them all. He stumbled a little, quietly cursing the last two or so glasses of champagne he’d had.

Reaching Victor was a relief – the man was talking to someone, but Yuuri simply didn’t care. He grabbed him by the wrist and yanked. It pulled Victor off-balance and made it easy for him to drag the man to the dancefloor.

Yuuri felt a little dizzy as his hand settled on Victor’s waist – he couldn’t quite make out what sort of music was playing. It was something Latin, but that was all he could tell.

With a chuckle, Victor changed his hold on Yuuri and started leading him in a dance. He still didn’t know exactly which kind, but it was evidently one he knew as his muscle memory seemed to kick in just fine. Grateful for that, he looked up at his partner.

Victor looked… amused.

“Thanks for the rescue. I was wondering how long it would take until you’d have mercy and come rescue me.”

“You… wanted me to come get you?” He replied, his hand tightening on Victor’s.

“Of course I did. You don’t think I enjoyed talking to all those people?”

“Well, you looked like you were having fun.”

“No. Of course, I’d rather be with you.” Victor assured him as they spun around the dancefloor.

“Oh.”

“Mh… say, Yuuri, is that champagne I smell?”

He cleared his throat a little.

“I had a few drinks with Chris.” He admitted – he wasn’t entirely sure how many.

“Did you? I’m glad he kept you company. I didn’t want you to be all alone.”

“Ah, thank you. I was… I was fine. It was a little boring. I just wanted to dance with you.” He admitted, blushing and fumbling his next few steps.

Victor laughed brightly, happily, and allowed him to catch himself.

“Well, I’m glad to hear it.”

“How is your hip? Is it hurting?”

“No, not anymore. It’s perfectly fine now. I’m not even limping anymore!”

“Good. You know, Chris said… Chris thought…” He blushed even harder, unable to even finish the sentence.

“I’m not surprised. Did you correct him?”

Yuuri gasped in shock. “Of course I did! How could I not?”

“Well, I’d be okay with him thinking that. Or you doing it, for that matter.”

He was fairly sure he was going to combust soon – or pass out if he flushed any harder than was already the case.

“Yuuri… I know we haven’t spoken about this for a while, but if that’s a path you want to go down, I’d be happy to do so. I mean… we are going to be living together.”

“Yes, yes we are.” Yuuri felt an involuntary grin spread across his features.

He felt a little dizzy – a pleasant rush, excitement, happiness and pure love for the man in his arms. It was a feeling he desperately wanted to keep for the rest of his life – well, maybe without the champagne.

Tightening his hold on Victor, he made a concerted effort to take over the lead – he knew the song the musicians were playing, and he wanted to take charge for a few moments.

Victor gasped in surprise but readily gave in to him. Yuuri led him through more complex maneuvers, motions, and steps he knew by heart. They were breathing too hard to talk now, settling instead for the odd breathless laugh as Yuuri dipped Victor, the man spun around him and more.

It was wonderful, every bit as exciting as skating was for him. Watching Victor enjoy himself was certainly something precious to him. When the music changed, they slowed down with it, Victor leading again.

“I’m looking forward to coming to Russia with you.” He eventually blurted out, mid-step. Victor didn’t seem surprised though.

“Me too. I can’t wait. It’s going to be wonderful. You and me… training together, living together, skating together… I’m so excited!”

“Me too.” Yuuri wanted to say more, but words simply wouldn’t come.

“I love you, Yuuri.”

Spinning, twirling around the dancefloor, Yuuri allowed himself to be led, looking into Victor’s eyes the entire time. The ballroom faded away, as did the chatter around them. All Yuuri could feel was their bodies against each other, moving in perfect sync. It was all he wanted to feel – just him and Victor, forever.

This was going to be his life, their life, and he couldn’t WAIT for it to get started.

“I love you too, Vitya.”


End file.
